ABSTRACT
The process of privatisation within many education systems throughout the world
has been a continued focus of research and concern over the last three decades or
more (Walford, 1990). An early article by Dale (1997, p. 275) urged researchers
to examine the nature of the restructuring of the governance of education through
a framework that highlighted the relationship between the governance activities of
funding, regulation and provision/delivery of schooling and the coordinating
institutions of the state, market and community. The gradual privatising moves
away from state education systems provided, funded and regulated by the local or
central government have taken many different forms in various countries. For
example, in some economically developed countries, such as the United Kingdom,
there has been increased private and for-profit sector involvement in the manage-
ment and provision of schools and colleges with various activities being outsourced
(Ball, 2007). In countries such as India, Pakistan and many in Africa, privatisation
has mainly taken the form of a dramatic increase in low-fee private schools which
are perceived by many poor parents as offering a better alternative to the govern-
ment schools available to them (Srivastava & Walford, 2007).
