Deprivatization in the Philippines: Tipping the Public-Private Balance in Higher Education

The Philippines, which has one of the most privatized higher education systems in the world, is undergoing a puzzling process of deprivatization due to a confluence of policies that have turned public universities and colleges into demand-absorbing institutions.Despite its decreasing share in overall enrollment, private higher education continues to experience institutional growth, led by an increase in small, for-profit private higher education.This trend presents challenges to ensuring public-private complementarity.ncontrast with the global trend toward more private higher education (PHE), the Philippine higher education system is becoming more public.The Philippines used to have one of the highest shares of PHE enrollment in the world.However, a confluence of policies-particularly those encouraging the marketization of public tertiary education and the deregulation of the private, for-profit market-has catalyzed a deep and persistent deprivatization.The ongoing rebalancing of the public-private institutional mix in the country presents a counterpoint to the global expansion of PHE.