Member-only story
They’re Trying to Privatize Education: S. Korea Shows Why That’s a Bad Idea Part II
In Part I of this series, I laid out why privatization will lead to the formation of large private school companies and franchises as we see in South Korea. To summarize: It just makes economic and business sense. If people involved with education are interested in making a profit, it is clear that the easiest way to do that is to grow larger as a means to lower costs (economies of scale). This week I’ll explain why large companies actually discourage innovation in the long run and why school vouchers won’t level the playing field. In fact, they might very well end up costing parents money as they seek to give their children an edge.
Corporatization Kills Innovation
Even if people concede that corporatization is the inevitable result of privatizing education, some still might ask what’s wrong with schools merging together to bring down costs while offering more services, all while making education more cost-effective and profitable. To answer this I will point to one of the main arguments made by private school privatization advocates: it will lead to greater innovation through free-market economics and competition. These advocates, however, have mistaken schools competing for students, or, more accurately, customers, with actual education innovation. They are not the same thing…
