Financing Public Schools with Private Funds: Efficiency–Equity Trade-Off of Multi-Stakeholder School Financing in Punjab, Pakistan

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca

Governments and development partners encourage public school authorities to mobilize private funds from diverse non-state stakeholders to broaden financing sources and sustain quality education for all. While such financing is expected to improve efficiency through greater accountability, it can create equity concerns in school finance. Using Punjab, Pakistan school panel data from LEAPS, fixed effects analyses relate private funding by stakeholder type to efficiency and equity outcomes at given achievement levels.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages31

Reading Time1 h 18 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose and policy context

Data and method

Findings on efficiency and equity

Implications

| education policy analysis archives
A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal | | | --- | --- | | Arizona State University | | | Volume 30 Number 75 May 31 , 2022 ISSN 1068-2341 | | Financing Public Schools with Private Funds: Efficiency– Equity Trade-Off of Multi-Stakeholder School Financing in Punjab, Pakistan Jutaro Sakamoto UNICEF United States Citation: Sakamoto, J. (2022). Financing public schools with private funds: Efficiency–equity tradeoff of multi-stakeholder school financing in Punjab, Pakistan. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 30(75). [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.6828](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.6828) Abstract: Governments and development partners encourage public school authorities to mobilize private funds from diverse non-state stakeholders as a means to expand funding sources to provide quality education for all. While financing public schools with private funds is expected to promote the efficient use of resources due to increased accountability, it raises concerns about financial equity. Using public school panel data from Learning and Educational Achievements in Punjab Schools (LEAPS) in Pakistan, this study examineshow private funds mobilized from different stakeholders are associated with efficiency in educating students at a given achievement level and equity in school finance. School fixed effects analyses show that schools relying on education fees or local community contributions were more likely to reduce inefficient capital expenditure. In girls’ schools, financial dependency on private donors is also associated with a reduction in capital expenditure. However, the results suggest that a heavy reliance on education fees and private donors makes schools less efficient. I find no evidence that mobilizing private-fund revenue widened financial inequity. The findings demonstrate the importance of understanding the differential effects of private-fund revenue to develop effective multistakeholder financing systems that improve student achievement in a cost-effective manner and ensure financial equity. Keywords: educational finance; efficiency; equity; accountability; public–private partnerships; Pakistan Financiamiento de escuelas públicas con fondos privados: Equilibrio entreeficiencia y equidad del financiamiento de múltiples stakeholders en Punjab, Pakistán Resumen: Los socios en los sectores gubernamentales y de desarrollo alientan a los líderes de las escuelas públicas a movilizar fondos privados de diversas stakeholders no estatales como un medio para expandir las fuentes de financiamiento para brindar una educación decalidad para todos. Si bien se espera que el financiamiento de las escuelas públicas con fondos privados promueva el uso eficiente de los recursos debido a una mayor accountability, plantea preocupaciones sobre la equidad financiera. Utilizando datos de panel de escuelas públicas de Learning and Educational Achievements in Punjab Schools (LEAPS) en Pakistán, este estudio examina cómo los fondos privados movilizados de diferentes stakeholders se asocian con la eficiencia en la educación de los estudiantes en un nivel de rendimiento determinado y la equidad en la financiación escolar. Los análisis deefectos fijos escolares muestran que las escuelas que dependen de las tasas educativas o delas contribuciones de la comunidad local tenían más probabilidades de reducir el gasto de capital ineficiente. En las escuelas de niñas, la dependencia financiera de los donantes privados también se asocia con una reducción de los gastos de capital. Sin embargo, los resultados sugieren que una gran dependencia de las tasas educativas y los donantes privados hace que las escuelas sean menos eficientes. No encuentro evidencia de que lamovilización de fondos privados amplió la inequidad financiera. Los hallazgos demuestran la importancia de comprender los efectos diferenciales de los ingresos de fondos privados para desarrollar sistemas de fin

FAQs

What policy goal drives the use of private funds in public schools in Punjab, Pakistan?

The goal is to expand financing sources so public schools can provide quality education for all.

How does the study analyze the link between private funding and school outcomes?

It uses public school panel data from LEAPS and applies school fixed effects analyses to assess efficiency and equity relationships.

What are the main findings about efficiency and equity when schools rely on private donors?

Schools relying on education fees or local community contributions are more likely to reduce inefficient capital expenditure, but heavy reliance on education fees and private donors can reduce efficiency. The study finds no evidence that private-fund mobilization widened financial inequity.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca