Expansion of private higher education continues unabated, intensifying and spreading to additional regions and countries. However, privatization means many things in higher education. While a public university is generally considered to be an institution funded by and responsive to a local, provincial or national government, private institutions do not reflect a consistent model. Private institutions may operate entirely with private assets or partially with public funds; they may be for-profit or nonprofit; they may be accountable to the host government or operate completely outside of local regulation; they may have owners or investors or operate as foundations or trusts. Some of these ideas would have seemed ludicrous a few decades ago but are now fundamental to strategic plans and new policy almost everywhere. Significantly, all these strategic plans and policies for private higher education are firmly aligned with the neo-liberal world of the 21st Century.

Author:
Dr. Ayaz Ahmad, Associate Professor, Unitedworld School of Law (UWSL)

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