Pandemic Privatisation in Higher Education: Edtech & University Reform
Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic became the context for rapid growth in the use of digital technology services in higher education (HE),1 and an acceleration in longstanding trends of marketisation, privatisation and commercialisation in education systems around the world.2 HE may ‘never be the same again after the coronavirus crisis’ but many of the problems revealed during the pandemic are longstanding.3 The development of market-based policies and practices in HE, along with the expansion of public-private partnerships, private sector participation, and increasing involvement of commercial digital technology service providers, has a long history in many education systems worldwide (Busch 2016; Hogan and Thompson 2020; Williamson 2019). The aim of this report is to detail the expansion of higher education privatisation and commercialisation that occurred through the increased use of digital technologies during the coronavirus crisis. It is not intended to assess whether certain technology interventions ‘worked’ or not, or to evaluate whether online education is better or worse than in-person teaching and learning, but, by documenting private and commercial activities, to identify longer-term implications for HE staff, students and institutions.
1. Higher Education privatisation and commercialisation The involvement of private sector and commercial organisations can valuably support the aims, values and quality of state and public education, but private and commercial actors that treat education as a market good can fragment and exploit it for private advantage or financial gain.4 The pursuit of commercial advantage, imposition of business interests as drivers of educational change, and the introduction of market values of efficiency, competition and performance improvement can affect the mission of educational institutions, reshape educators’ professional judgment and attention, and reconfigure curricula and 1 2 3 4
In this report we use the term Higher Education (HE) to encompass the post-16 Further Education (FE) sector and postsecondary university education, whilst recognising that these sectors have their own unique characteristics and vary across regions. Hogan, A. 2018, 12 December. Marketisation, privatisation and commercialisation in education: Defining key terms. Unite for Quality Education: https://www.unite4education.org/global-response/marketisation-privatisation-commercialisation-ineducation-defining-key-terms/ Witze, A. 2020, 1 June. Universities will never be the same after the coronavirus crisis. Nature: https://www.nature.com/ articles/d41586-020-01518-y The 2019 Abidjan Principles outline the human rights obligations of states to provide public education and regulate private involvement in education: https://www.abidjanprinciples.org/en/principles/overview
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