Can public private partnerships help deliver universal secondary education? The case of Uganda

Governments worldwide are facing pressure to increase access to secondary school. In Uganda, the government introduced a fee-free policy in 2007 to address this issue. In an effort to make it more affordable, the government partnered with non-state schools to form public-private partnerships (PPPs). PPPs are seen as a cost-effective way to increase school supply, but they have also been associated with negative equity implications. This paper uses a theory of change approach to examine how paying tuition fees for eligible students in PPP and state schools has helped extend access to secondary school in Uganda. Analysis of the Ark Secondary Schools Survey and Focus Group data reveals that the policy did not remove the financial and structural barriers for many students. Key informant interviews shed further light on the ways in which the policy has in fact reinforced existing patterns of exclusion.