Governance System of Private Schools

Abstract

With the trend of the era, it is required to improve the school management system, which will coordinate private schools’ inside and outside relationship. After reviewing the current government policies and their implementations, as well as borrowing ideas from the pilot experience with reference to the construction of private school management system, Chapter 7 proposes the policies of improving for-profit and non-profit private schools’ management system. The proposed policies are based on the theories such as education marketization theory, rent-seeking theory, separation of the two powers theory, transaction cost theory, principal–agent theory, and corporate governance theory. Proposals within the framework of the classification management system are as follows:

• 1. The non-profit private schools should focus on the key external system constructions, including transforming the government functions, perfecting the supervision mechanism, and strengthening the social participations. At the same time, the non-profit private school should pay attention to the key internal system construction. The following deeds are very important: first, improving the decision-making mechanism of the board of directors, perfecting the supervision mechanism; second, upholding the political centrality of the Communist Party of China; third, sticking out the school regulations and rules; fourth, making it clear that the school president is responsible for the team building totally; and fifth, playing the role of academic authority and establishing the governance mechanism of all the stakeholders.

• 2. The for-profit private schools shall comply with the common requirements of running school lawfully. The requiements are managing school independently, supervising school democratically, and participating school’s affairs socially. In addition to, for-profit schools should abide by the common features of the system construction for the for-profit organizations. Meanwhile, for-profit schools should put emphasis on improving the supporting policies and regulations, fully implementing the rights of self-government, and effectively monitoring the financial conditions as the key of the external system construction. For the key internal system construction, for-profit schools should improve and mature the operational mechanism of enterprises.