Higher education: Public good or private commodity?

‘Free Markets’: Public Good or Private Greed?

The fundamental question addressed in this paper is this: does the rise of free market orthodoxy indicate the triumph of ‘efficiency’ at the expense of ‘equity’? Or does it also, and possibly even primarily, reflect an attempt to capitalise on the distributive opportunities that have been created by the deteriorating macroeconomic environment and the conservative political climate of the late ‘...

Online higher education commodity

This article analyzes the current trend towards online education. It examines some of the reasons for the trend and the ramifications it may have on students, faculty and institutions of higher learning. The success and profitability of online programs and institutions such as the University of Phoenix has helped to make the move towards online education more appealing to other institutions, as...

Competition in higher education – good or bad?

Competition is an integrated part of most civilizations, from sports to education. Often competition arise whether or not it was intended and higher education is no exception from this. Should teachers acknowledge this and try to introduce competition as a part of the course or should they try to prevent competition, even spontaneously arisen competition? In this paper an overview of effects of...

Public/private partnerships: a Trojan horse for higher education?

Public and private higher education in comparative perspective*

Private higher education has been growing in South Africa, leading to intense concerns about its possible positive and negative effects in the fulfillment of broader goals. This article provides a comparative perspective, examining the experience of Latin American countries on the subject, first regarding the impact of the private sector on issues of access, equity, extension work, research and...