Privatization of Education Services Provision and Implications for Quality Education in Tanzania E-Book

Yazidu Saidi Mbalamula

• Herausgeber: GRIN Verlag
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Essay from the year 2014 in the subject Pedagogy - School System, Educational and School Politics, grade: 8, University of Dodoma (College of Education), course: Educational Management and Administration, language: English, abstract: Privatization of education service and delivery aimed to enhance access and improve quality of education. This shift emanated from global influence such as that of Washington Consensus and Structural Adjustment policies. Notwithstanding there have been quantifiable benefits from this privatization policy, nevertheless, privatization of education services is doomed to assume more commercial and market orientations which undermines quality of education across countries. Evidently, the private education providers, inter alia are largely influenced by profit-making realization in order to nurse their recurrent operational costs, the market dynamics and clientele satisfaction. With few and inefficient quality assurance and controls mechanism in place, as in case of developing countries, and Tanzania in particular, there is less to expect of any good for the quality of educational product at the end of the term in any educational life span. whilst the question whether privatization is or is not feasible approach to sustain emerges, and whose effects which may be presumably intolerable to other production endeavors in which there is room for remedy; educational services suffer total and irreversible defect. This paper confines to anecdote pertinent question, ‘are there efficient quality control assurance and quality control mechanisms for education services and delivery?’. This is fundamental question in order to analyze effectiveness of Privatization of Education Approach in Tanzania. Moreover, several aspects will be discussed including Effectiveness Inspectorate Boards, Examination and Accreditation boards.

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Privatization of Education Services Provision and Implications for Quality Education in Tanzania: Are efficient Quality Assurance and mechanisms in Place?

Inhalt

Abstract

Introduction

Conclusion

References

Abstract

Privatization of education service and delivery aimed to enhance access and improve quality of education. This shift emanated from global influence such as that of Washington Consensus and Structural Adjustment policies. Notwithstanding there have been quantifiable benefits from this privatization policy, nevertheless, privatization of education services is doomed to assume more commercial and market orientations which undermines quality of education across countries. Evidently, the private education providers, inter alia are largely influenced by profit-making realization in order to nurse their recurrent operational costs, the market dynamics and clientele satisfaction. With few and inefficient quality assurance and controls mechanism in place, as in case of developing countries, and Tanzania in particular, there is less to expect of any good for the quality of educational product at the end of the term in any educational life span. whilst the question whether privatization is or is not feasible approach to sustain emerges, and whose effects which may be presumably intolerable to other production endeavors in which there is room for remedy; educational services suffer total and irreversible defect. This paper confines to anecdote pertinent question, ‘are there efficient quality control assurance and quality control mechanisms for education services and delivery?’. This is fundamental question in order to analyze effectiveness of Privatization of Education Approach in Tanzania. Moreover, several aspects will be discussed including Effectiveness Inspectorate Boards, Examination and Accreditation boards.

Keywords:

Introduction

Belfield and Levin (2002) define privatization as the ‘transfer of activities, assets and responsibilities from government/public institutions and organizations to private individuals and agencies’. He adds that privatization is often is considered to be liberalization process where agents are freed from public regulations, or as ‘marketization’ where new markets are created as alternatives to public services.

The concept Privatization in education is recently very common occupying a large part in educational debates. For many, it means a role of parents in financing education. While this imbibes lot of negative connotations of increasing inequalities to access of education (Mosha, 2006), to others the term has meant more resource to education and more flexibility in education delivery (Belfield and Levin, 2002). In general the term can be simply defined as process of initiating personal or private ownership of different educational services, specifically referring to more if not full authority of individual decision over operation of educational process.

On the other hand, the term quality has been defined variously encompassing different notions, from those of relativists, humanistic, behaviorist, critical, indigenous and adult education approaches. This makes the concept of quality controversial; such it may mean different things to different individuals. However, in case, the term quality will be defined as “fitness for purpose” meeting or conforming to generally accepted standards (Materu, 2007). Also, Mosha (2006) define quality as level of excellence in performance. It can be measured by establishing benchmarks or criteria and standards of good performance.

Quality Assurance is sometime used interchangeably to refer Quality Control. Quality assurance can be defined as a system of check and balance in the process of policy, plan, and programme implementation to ensure that the system is constantly aware of its expectations and there is a concerted effort towards their realization (Mosha, 2006: 245). Quality assurance institutions include inspectorates, examination and accreditation bodies, governing bodies, curriculum as well as community-based institutions, all of which discharge their mandates over predetermined set of quality standards in a given country (Mosha, 2006).

Commercializationand Marketization of Education

The two terms ‘commercialization’ and ‘marketization’ derive their literal meanings from two English words, ‘commerce’ and ‘market’. According to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2003), ‘commerce’ is defined as the “activities involved in buying and selling things”, while ‘market’ refers to as “a place or event where people gather in order to buy or sell things”. In light of the above, the two terms can be used interchangeably to mean the same thing.

The impact of Privatization policy in many countries has been evidenced by an ideological shift of many educational stakeholders including parents and education service providers, that education being a right and need is a determinant factor of individual life standard (Carnoy, 2006). This view conceived education skills as commodity, which can be paid for, that is has a price (Galabawa, 2007, 2005; Green, 1980) which gives parents and their children freedom to choose type of education they wanted. This led to education services and products to assume both a ‘commercial’ and a ‘market’ value, and hence educational commercialization and marketization. Consequently, in recent times it is not uncommon to find the views of education as a commodity being auctioned in news media among others in the face of quality education, and customers, in this case parents and others, have been buying the services.