Public–Private Partnerships in Education: Lessons Learned from the Punjab Education Foundation

By Allah Bakhsh Malik, Asian Development Bank 2010.

To provide an alternative to the country's struggling public school system for impoverished children living in the remote rural areas and urban slums of Pakistan, the provincial government of Punjab revitalized the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF), which works with private schools located in poor communities throughout the province. Through these public-private partnerships (PPPs), the PEF provides school funding, teacher training, and vouchers allowing needy children to attend participating private schools for free. The parity between male and female students is ensured by a policy that makes it mandatory for participating households to enroll both girls and boys. If a household enrolls its boys using an education voucher but not its girls, the voucher will no longer be valid. This condition, coupled with an awareness campaign, has persuaded parents to send both their boys and girls to school. This report examines a number of aspects of the PEF experience with the design and implementation of PPPs in the education sector including a brief discussion of the lessons that can be drawn from the PEF’s experience with education PPPs.

Related Information:

Impacts of PPPs on Gender Inclusion

Mainstreaming Gender in Education Projects

Tracking Reference:

PPP_Education_Lessons_Punjab_Education_Foundation_2010_EN