Improving the Effectiveness of Public-Private Partnerships in the Provision of Higher Education in Uganda

Abstract

The fundamental aim of forming a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is to improve the provision of public services generally and in terms of quality and accessibility in particular. Unfortunately, realizing this aim as effectively as desired has eluded many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. This has particularly been witnessed in the higher education sector. Despite the existence of PPPs in this sector, the quality and accessibility of higher education has continued to fall short of stakeholder expectations in many Sub-Saharan countries, including Uganda. This implies that the PPPs formed in this sector have largely been ineffective. Accordingly, this paper uses descriptive and factor analysis to explore the causes of such ineffectiveness and how they can be addressed to avert it. The paper is divided in four parts. The first part focuses on the methodology used to come up with the paper; the second part is on the effectiveness of the PPPs in terms of quality and accessibility of higher education; and the third part is about determinants of the infectiveness of the PPPs in Uganda’s higher education. In the fourth part, recommendations for reform are suggested. Keywords : Public-private partnership; NPM; Higher education reform