The Politics of De-Privatisation: Philippine Higher Education in Transition

While many higher education systems across the world have expanded through privatisation, the Philippines is doing the opposite. Unlike similar Asian countries with private mass higher education such as Japan and South Korea, the Philippines is expanding tertiary education enrolment through “de-privatisation.” But little is known as to why and how this system transition is occurring. This article analyses the decline in private higher education enrolment as it relates to the increasing public spending for higher education and growing subsidisation of private education. It identifies policy legacies that constrain the greater participation of public higher education institutions (HEIs). The earlier effort to marketise public universities, however, turned them into demand-absorbing institutions while deregulation allowed private HEIs to increasingly cater to specific, niche demands of the market such as migrant worker education. The Philippine government overcame the legacy of a mass private higher education by providing more state assistance through subsidies to private schools. The article highlights the often-ignored role of policy legacy and policy feedback in the study of the politics of higher education.