Increased private-public partnerships imperative in Zimbabwean education

The year 2012 comes with the beginning of a new academic year, increase in school fees and levies, expensive new uniforms and an impending strike. Even though education plays a critical role in any nation’s economic, political, socio-cultural and technological development as it helps people to participate fully in society and governance, the Zimbabwean academic year has commenced with clouds of uncertainty hanging nationwide.  It is the onus of every government to avail and fund education but this responsibility is outsized and complex for the government of Zimbabwe to meet sufficiently. It is thus imperative for the government to explore alternative means of financing and affording educational services. This article will examine how public-private partnerships can help Zimbabwe meet its education goals.

Proficient and equitable access to education is proving to be elusive to many people in Zimbabwe as often low-income families, girls and other previously marginalized groups have only limited access to education. Several Sub-Saharan countries have yet to achieve universal primary education even though enrollment rates across all developing countries increased by 4% between 1991 and 2006. The collapse of the

Zimbabwean economy during the past decade is the source of scores of present day challenges for the country’s education system. It brought about with it failure by the government to finance the rehabilitation of learning infrastructure as well as the procurement of textbooks which are an essential resource of any education configuration if it is to function both efficiently and effectively. Zimbabwe’s economic downturn meant that remuneration paid to teachers by the government was below the Poverty Datum Line contrary to salaries offered by other countries in the region, thus teachers resorted to industrial action as a means of protesting against a failed government. This course of action produced an education sector which was fraught with stay-aways, go-slows and outright strikes with little or no education taking place.  Education was put into further jeopardy by the mass exodus of qualified and experienced teachers who abandoned the profession in pursuit of greener pastures within and outside the country. The number of school dropouts increased, attendance became haphazard while pass rates declined.

Given market failures and equity concerns, the public sector remains an important player in providing education services, but making quality education accessible and affordable to all in a developing country like Zimbabwe requires innovative programs and initiatives in addition to public resources and good leadership. There are several ways in which the public sector and the private world can join together to complement each other’s strengths in providing education services and help Zimbabwe meet the Millenium Development Goals for education and to improve learning outcomes. These public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be tailor made and precisely targeted to meet the needs of low-income earners.

Public-Private partnerships are defined as “…any arrangement between a government and the private sector (inclusive of CSOs) in which partially or traditionally public activities are performed by the private sector.” These arrangements must not be confused with privatization that entails the total purchase of public entities for commercialization.  The phenomenon of PPPs in Zimbabwe is neither alien nor new. Government recognized this critical role of the private sector in 2004, and developed underpinning PPP investment guidelines in this country. These guidelines provided the parameters for the development of an appropriate legal and regulatory framework, to protect the interests of the investors and the consumers. Various stakeholders contributed to the development of the PPPs' legal and institutional framework in 2007 in Kariba, and in 2009 in Harare, leading to the development of a comprehensive "Legal and Institutional Framework for Public-Private Partnerships in Zimbabwe" document, which should guide relevant Ministries.

The country has previously benefited and continues to benefit from PPPs especially in the arena of infrastructure development. For example…Recently, the government launched the National Manpower Advisory Council (NAMACO) with a mandate to explore possibilities and opportunities for PPPs in the Higher and Tertiary education sector that already has other corporate players such as Mimosa Mining Holdings, Econet Private Limited, BAT through its scholarship Programs, UNILEVER and Metallion Gold.

However, PPPs in the education sector have been limited to the involvement of multilateral donor organizations such as PLAN International and World Vision together with churches such as the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church that have either seen the establishment and management of schools, provision of resources and technical expertise. The involvement of the corporate sector however, remains subdued/limited. This can be attributed to the economic downturn, the long-term cost recovery of education, the bureaucracy of government systems and the absence of incentives to motivate corporate involvement in the sector.

In light of the challenges facing the education sector, it has become more than imperative for increased PPPs in education as best practice from across the globe informs one that for quality education to be a reality, the efforts of government alone, be it central or local government, is insufficient.  An education industry producing the needed human capital for the development of this country needs the aid of the corporate world. Its performance affects and determines the quality and magnitude of Africa's development and indeed that of Zimbabwe. It forms the basis for developing innovation, science and technology in order to harness our resources, industrialize, and participate in the global knowledge economy and for Zimbabwe to take its rightful place in the global community. It is a means by which Zimbabwe will entrench a culture of peace, gender equality and positive African values. The inclusion and participation of the corporate world, the inevitable beneficiaries of a good education system, must be prioritized as it entails a number of merits. Public Private Partnerships offer a less radical alternative to the sometimes controversial and less desirable wholesale privatization as in the case of  Herentals Group of Colleges buying Cold Comfort Primary School.

Education as managed by governments has proven to contain a lot of red-tape and conservatism that often impedes the process and management of education in the country. PPPS offer the opportunity for enhanced managerial performance, entrepreneurial spirit through capacity-building and staff retention measures.

Best practice from Pakistan and India reveals a partnership that has seen the involvement of information Technology companies in the education sector with the resultant improved access to leading edge technologies. Intel, the global technology giant, has nbeen responsible for the introduction of computer technology in schools while also participating in the training of computer tutors. Zimbabwe can also learn from the experience by engaging industrial companies in Metal work education, clothing companies in Fashion and Fabrics and culinary entities in Food and Nutrition tuition. Already, football teams have realized this avenue with Bantu Rovers adopting Mzilikazi High School, sponsoring it with soccer skits and equipment.

The Zimbabwean education sector has not been divorced from the poor, corrupt governance system that is a common feature in Zimbabwean life. Communities and school authorities have been at loggerheads due to the lack of transparency, popular participation and accountability in the administration of incentives and school projects. PPPs offer an opportunity for improved transparency through involvement of local communities from project formulation, design, implementation and evaluation.