Privatization In Higher Education: Cross-Country Analysis Of Trends, Policies, Problems, And Solutions

This issue brief examines the experience of four countries with privatization, including the development and expansion of private institutions, increased reliance of public institutions on private funding, and the operation of the colleges and universities in a business-like manner. The countries—Brazil, Mongolia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine—and their different experiences help to illustrate various aspects of privatization to reveal common problems and the ways in which these problems are being addressed. The brief concludes that although countries differ in the significance of privatization, it occurs to some degree in all of them, making it necessary to recognize its growing importance in higher education globally.