A report by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) has illuminated the extent of the private sector’s takeover of higher education across the world. The report claims that 30% of global HE is now provided by private providers. It also says that private sector HE ‘is run mostly on a business model, with power and authority concentrated in boards and chief executives. Faculty hold little authority or influence and students are seen as customers.’ They also make the key point that private providers drive down costs, partly because they rely on casualised academics.
UNESCO’s report – A new dynamic: private higher education (.pdf)
