Effects of public-private partnerships on performance of Universal Secondary Education programme in Uganda

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to assess the effects of public private partnership on performance of USE programme in Uganda. Specifically, capitation grants, school ownership and school learning environment (teachers, facilities like number of classrooms, laboratories and latrine stances) were the primary independent variables. The two dependent variables were school enrolments and UCE performance index as indicators of accessibility and quality for lower secondary education respectively. The study mainly applied the Correlated Random Effects (CRE) model to a balanced panel dataset of 400 schools (45.3% private schools and 54.7% government aided schools) from MoES and UNEB for the years 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 representing a seven-year period of USE implementation. In addition the Random Effects (RE) model was applied to 181 ppp schools in analyzing their UCE performance index for the same period. The study reveals that capitation grants (p=0.000), number of teachers (p=0.002) and classrooms (p=0.003) have positive significant effects on ppp school enrolments. Capitation grants however had less effect (p=0.007) on enrolment in ppp schools than in government aided schools. In addition, a ppp school on average enrolled more students (p=0.007) than government aided school implying that school ownership actually influence access to education in USE programme. Concerning the quality of secondary education, findings indicate that science teachers (p=0.019), school location (p=0.035) and number of latrine stances (p=0.033) have a significant effect on UCE performance index in ppp schools. Findings also show that government aided schools registered better performance index (p=0.039) than ppp schools on account of better science laboratories. The performance index declined over the years while at the same time rural schools performed poorly compared to urban schools. These findings point to the need for government to formulate a policy framework of training, recruiting and sustaining science teachers in secondary schools irrespective of school ownership. There is need to expand in-service training of science and mathematics teachers while subsidizing through tax waivers, the supply of science kits, and laboratory chemicals and equipment mainly in rural schools. In view of the recent policy reversal to terminate the current PPP arrangement in USE programme, government needs to sustain gains registered in accessibility by grant aiding deserving private schools in rural areas.