Public private partnerships considered for Victorian schools

Public private partnerships (PPPs) for schools are being considered by the state government of Victoria in Australia.

Labour Party state premier John Brumby was last week reported in the Sydney Morning Herald saying schools could not exist in their own right and needed to offer broader benefits to the community through assets such as sporting facilities.

Mr Brumby has called for a report looking at the benefits PPPs could give to schools, particularly new schools in greenfield sites.

The newspaper reported that opposition education spokesman Martin Dixon said private involvement in schools was worth considering.

The Australian Education Union's Victorian president Mary Bluett was reported saying teachers were prepared to consider the plan, as long as the PPP was cost effective and companies had no involvement in running the school or its curriculum.

The move follows the building of several schools in New South Wales in the past couple of years under PPP arrangements.

Resources

The Sydney Morning Herald story is at this web page.

An editorial in The Age supports the Labor government's moves.

A Subtext story on the New South Wales PPP schools is at this web page.

Public-private partnerships have a role to play in successful education facilities, says a 2006 OECD report. A Subtext story on the report is at this web page.

Education Forum policy advisor Norman LaRocque has written a report on the contracting out of education. The report is online at this web page.

Private sector innovation 'adds value' to education, says Stephen Selwood, the chief executive of the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development. His comments can be read online at this web page.

A Subtext feature on PPPs in Pakistan is at this web page.