Educational Infrastructure

The provision of educational infrastructure around the world is generally deemed as the responsibility of the respective governments. It is widely acknowledged that investments in educational infrastructure yield sustainable economic development of any urban region. It is, therefore, imperative that the educational infrastructure, particularly in developing countries, is capable of meeting modern day educational requirements and is result-oriented in terms of physical, curricular, and managerial aspects. However, in practice, most developing countries continue to follow conventional methods for the delivery of educational infrastructure, which are either too rigid, unsustainable, or bear no relation to the economic development requirements of modern times. In the context of the prevailing economic recessionary pressures, it has become all the more important that we ensure that the educational infrastructure is optimally efficient and efficacious in educating the present (and future) generations of students capable of meeting the challenging demands of the 21st Century. This warrants a critical look at the current public schools system, and re-think its design, financing mechanisms, and functionality in order to improve the overall quality and provision of education. This thesis seeks to address this dire need and proposes an alternative integrated approach to better design, sustainable financing and optimal functioning of educational infrastructure, including the possibilities of public-private partnerships, with a particular emphasis on education in developing countries. This thesis research reviews the prevailing models of educational infrastructure with a view to identifying the underlying challenges and results in finding ways to strengthen the sustainable functioning and output of public school systems. Through an objective evaluation of existing models focused on two case studies, one in a developed country (USA) and the other developing country (Pakistan), this research determines that an integrated approach to design, finance and function can help achieve better results and also bring all stakeholders into a durable and mutually beneficial arrangement for successful delivery of education. An integrated approach to design, finance and functionality, has a clear edge over the standardized approach, which is followed in most developing societies. Through better use of public-private partnerships, and with greater private sector involvement, governments can burden-share their responsibility of providing quality education. By combining efficiency with welfare, it is possible to achieve optimal results.