Education as a commodity; buying, selling, and making money out of education and skills

Private sector involvement in the provision of public services has been on the rise since the early 1990s. Within the compulsory education sector, however, the explicit exclusion of for-profit providers remains largely unchallenged.

The Associate Parliamentary Skills Group conducted a stream of work exploring how the profit motive is already influencing the education and skills system, and how it might shape it in the future. 

Pre-seminar report: Where we are now 

Profit in education: where we are now provides an overview of the current status of profit-making in education around the world. It investigates the policy mechanisms which have facilitated for-profit provision in state education systems, and the political contexts in which this has taken place. Click here to download the paper.

Seminar report
On 12 June, the Group held a seminar in parliament to consider whether and how the profit motive could help us to solve problems in education and skills policy. Speakers at the seminar included:
 

• Fraser Nelson, Editor of the Spectator
• Pat Glass MP
• Janet Murray, Guardian education journalist
• Professor James Tooley, University of Newcastle
• Nick Dakin MP (Chair)

 A report providing an account of the issues discussed can be downloaded here.