Public-Private Partnerships During and After COVID-19

Abstract

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have become essential for higher education delivery worldwide. Growing evidence shows that such partnerships create opportunities for improving access and resourcing higher education institutions, as well as improving service delivery in the education sector. As part of the growing need to explore opportunities for PPPs in enhancing higher education in Kenya, especially in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) commissioned a mixed-methods study among higher education students, faculty, and other higher education stakeholders. As the evidence shows, the private sector partnered with the State to support the transition into online teaching and learning. KENET distributed 5,000 SIM cards loadable with 30GB of data per month for free for students. Safaricom PLC and Telkom Kenya PLC also engaged in different partnership arrangements, such as edu-bundle to support students and higher education institutions during the pandemic. The support notwithstanding, there exist critical gaps in access and utilization of these services, calling for the need to strengthen PPPs for increased access, equity, and quality of higher education services in a post-COVID-19 pandemic era.