ABSTRACT
Despite the reforms of the last twenty years, education systems worldwide do not yet resemble the competitive markets in which most commodities are traded. Proponents of markets and privatization in education tend to advocate a system in which some state intervention is necessary, whether this be direct funding of schools (as in the UK quasi-market), indirect funding through vouchers, or simply quality assurance and regulation. Markets are frequently justifi ed on the basis of parents’ or students’ rights to choice, or by the greater effi ciency and quality ensured through competition. Privatization is also at times promoted as a means of reducing the state monopoly and achieving greater academic freedom, as was alleged in the case of Buckingham University (Geiger, 1986).
