Education degrees and Education loan_04

Figure 1 refers only to the primary level (but would show even  greater proportions of household financing at the secondary level). In Viet Nam,  for example, households were estimated in 1994 to be meeting 44.4 percent of the costs of public primary education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  but 48.7 percent of the costs of public lower secondary education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university and 51.5 percent of the costs of public upper secondary education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  (World Bank 1997d, 68). At  the tertiary education level,  countries  with  high  proportions  of  enrollments  in private  institutions  include  Bangladesh,  India,  Indonesia,  Philippines,   and Thailand. 

The scale of private higher education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university   in the Philippines  deserves particular comment because it is at the extreme. In 1996/97, 1,045 out of 1,316 institutions (79.4 percent) were operated by private bodies (Johanson 1999, 2). Of these, 281 institutions were run by sectarian organizations, particularly the Catholic church. The shape of the higher education  sector like education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university was thus influenced by the religious characteristics of society as well as by historical legacies and government policies (Valisno1997). Some private universities, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university are operated as companies, the shares of which are quoted on the stock exchange. Gonzales (1997, 264) has described changing official attitudes to the private sector, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  in the Philippines. Prior to 1969, he says, the policy was one of  laissez faire to  the point at which 85 percent of students attended private universities, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  that were financed almost entirely from fees. This system led to a mismatch between supply of graduates and available jobs, and also to complaints about high fees. As a result, for over a decade from 1969,  the  Government regulated private institutions, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  and  attempted  to  make  the  sector  conform  to  a  central  plan. However, the  regulations  threatened  the  viability  of  some  institutions,  and political change led to reversal of policies in the 1980s. By 1992 deregulation was complete, and the laissez faire approach had come full circle.


Box 1: Public versus Private Education - A False Dichotomy?
Some documents make sharp distinctions between public and private education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university. In  many  settings,  however,  these  distinctions  are  questionable.  Even  on  the criterion of  provision  of  finance  (as opposed,  for  example,  to control  of  institutions), online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  the   boundaries   between   public   and   private   may   be   blurred.   In Cambodia, 60 percent of the resources for public primary education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  are provided directly by households rather than indirectly via the State, while in Indonesia, 69 percent of the resources of private primary schools  are provided by the  Government. Boundaries are also blurred at other levels. In Singapore, students  meet 20 percent of the recurrent  costs of public  university-level  education, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university   through  fees; but at the secondary level, the Government meets over 90 percent of the costs of the institutions in the Independent Schools Scheme.

Economic Justification for Investment in Education

The scale of public and private expenditures  on different levels and types  of education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university provides an indication of de facto priorities.  However,  it  does not indicate  the  rationales  for  those  priorities.  Behind  the   expenditures   are institutional and individual decisions that have social,  political, and economic goals. The social and political goals include raised levels of education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  in order to improve public awareness of important  issues, efforts to preserve existing social orders, desires to reduce inequalities of access, and concern to reduce population growth rates.  However, more relevant to this particular document are the economic goals.

Among  the  dominant  strands  of  thought  on  the  role  of  education, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university in economic  development  is that it is an investment  in human  capital  (OECD1998). Within this, is the view that it is possible to calculate rates of return  from investment in education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  and to do so by level and type of education. The work of Psacharopoulos  (e.g., 1994, 1995) has become particularly  well known in this domain. Other key researchers include Schultz (e.g., 1961, 1987), Becker (e.g., 1975, 1995), and McMahon (e.g., 1997,1998).Table 6 shows statistics from a large number of studies of rates of return to investment in education, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university compiled by Psacharopoulos (1994). Private returns accrue to individuals, while social returns accrue to the whole society (including the individuals). In most cases, private returns are greater than social returns because governments  give more in subsidies  than they take away in taxes. Regional aggregates are shown in Table 7. On  the  basis  of  the  figures  in  Table  6,  together  with  related  work, Psacharopoulos has argued that education is generally a good investment both for individuals and for whole societies. Within the education sector, Psacharopoulos has argued, rates of return are particularly high at the primary level, and especially in less  developed  countries.  This  suggests  that  in most  circum- stances  primary   education deserves   priority   in   the   allocation   of   extra resources. This view has helped shape World Bank policy, and has also been widely accepted elsewhere (e.g., UNDP 2000). The World Bank (e.g., 1995, 56) has argued on such evidence that expenditures in many countries  have been misallocated between education sub-sectors, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  with too much emphasis on secondary and higher education. However, evidence from some countries seems to indicate  that  private rates  of return  are  falling  over  time  (Tilak  1997a,  69).  Moreover,  the  very concept of rate-of-return  analysis  in education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  has been subject to  criticism (e.g., Leslie 1990; Bennell 1996; Curtin1996). One argument is  that greater earnings  for  individuals  with  higher  levels  of  education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university   do  not  reflect  the intrinsic value of education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  so much that school systems operate as screening devices in which only the more talented get through to higher levels. This view does not nullify the value of investments in education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university  but casts a different light on the reasons for earnings differentials at different levels of education, education loan consolidation, student loans, education degrees, online degrees, online masters degree, online colleges, online university. Other criticisms of rate-of-return analysis  are that the presentation of exact numbers gives the illusion of precision.  Also, since rates are calculated on past data, they  cannot  necessarily  predict  what  will  happen  in the  future.