Call for Proposals: The Privatization of Public Education in Africa and Asia

Date:

September 17, 2010

The changing dynamics of education in most countries over the last 30 years obscures an understanding of how the requirements of human rights and economic and social justice are to be met under the new and increasingly pervasive conditions of private, public, and private-public provision in education. The Privatization in Education Research Initiative (PERI), a multi-annual global initiative supported by the Education Support Program of the Open Society Foundations, seeks to contribute to a better understanding on whether, through what mechanisms, with what outcomes, and for whom the increasing adoption of a widening range educational service regulation and delivery mechanisms might lead to more effective and equitable education systems.

PERI has two key objectives:

Animate an accessible and informed public debate on the relative merits and demerits of alternative education provision that leads to informed choice by governments and parents. To this end, PERI will create a nonpartisan platform through which different normative, theoretical and empirical positions on the privatization of a range of education services can be debated;
Centralize a social justice lens through which to debate the consequences of changes in the coordination of education services. This will be achieved through a twin-track approach of scholarly research and media work, which will be accessible through the PERI website, which will also feature discussions, forums, and other resources.

In its first two-year phase, PERI seeks to commission up to twenty pieces of research. Proposals that focus on the primary and/or secondary sectors will be prioritized, however proposals will be considered which address these issues in the higher education sector that have implications for schooling, such as teacher training. It is intended that additional funding will become available in 2012 and lead to a further call for proposals.