1 Introduction

This article aims to discuss the implications of public-private relations in education, considering the experience in the states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte. Among them, changes related to the autonomy of school managers stand out. Studies demonstrate that the achievement of public-private partnerships (PPP) occurs through agreements between institutes and state or municipal education departments (^{Adrião; Garcia, 2014}; ^{Peroni, 2006}).

According to ^{Peroni (2006}), the changes that occurred during crises have reaffirmed conceptual, borderline, and legal transformations related to the public and private in Brazilian education. Specifically, the PPP has been influenced by the intervention of Brazilian businesspeople from different sectors of the economy within the scope of public education.

In this work, the expansion of these partnerships in the states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte is discussed, aiming to demonstrate how PPPs promote the development of management tools in the educational context and cause negative implications in school management, by implementing the principles of business management. The research method used was the dialectical approach according to ^{Kosík (1976}), which contributed to the interpretation, organization, and analysis of the data. Adopting as research procedures the literature review in the area, document analysis based on the analysis of the laws that regulate partnerships between the public and private sectors of the respective states, consultation of the websites of private institutes, and carrying out semi-structured interviews with representatives from the education departments and school managers from both states.

This article is divided into three sections. The first presents the scenario in which PPPs were established, both at international and national levels, including their application in the area of education. The second specifically addresses partnerships in the states of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará, discussing their characteristics and particularities; then, it explores the implications of these partnerships for school management. Finally, the third section presents the conclusions based on the analyses carried out.

2 Public and private in education: revisiting the debate

The debate about the role of the public and private sector in Brazilian education takes place in a broader context, in which market logic has been introduced into public sector reforms. The association in the form of partnership between these two sectors occurs through agreements, terms of commitment, and cooperation that follow market logic.

These initiatives are driven by management principles and arise as a response to the simplistic perception of supposed inefficiency and lack of quality in public services. The so-called New Public Management (NPM) presents itself as an alternative to the Weberian model of public administration, which is often perceived as rigid, excessively bureaucratic, and full of rules.

NPM is based on the principles of business management, using them as parameters of effectiveness and efficiency, and adoption of tools in the public sector used by companies, with the belief that the private sector presents the ideal management model (^{Abrucio, 1997}). So, it has become a response of the bourgeois economy to the capital crisis at the end of the 20th century. Based on these premises, state and municipal governments have established partnerships with non-governmental organizations to carry out educational services.

From the perspective of ^{Abrucio (1997}), it was precisely due to this combination of market and bourgeois democracy that PPPs developed to fill the gaps left by the bureaucratic model, aiming to reduce public spending in the social area, associated with the principle of doing more with less, as a way to boost productivity in the public sector.

The partnership between the public and private sectors has been committed to Public Administration as a new way of managing public services. In other words, this new alliance between governments and market sectors interested in social issues aims to respond to the scarcity of resources, with the promise of increasing efficiency in building and providing services, taking advantage of capital and experience of the private sector in conducting projects and investments (^{Bertolin, 2011}).

In this context, in the second half of the 20th century, PPPs gained space and strength, especially after the restructuring of capital resulting from the crisis of the 1970s. During this period, neoliberal principles¹ were adopted as a prescription and counter position to the Keynesian State. This model may not be the ideal solution to economic and social challenges and its implications need to be carefully considered to ensure that public interests are adequately protected and benefits are equitably distributed.

According to ^{Adrião and Garcia (2014}) and based on ^{Peroni (2016}), privatization reforms were designed in England, from the end of the 1970s until the 1980s, during the government of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990), and in the United States, by President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989). These governments implemented neoliberal principles in state policies, aiming to overcome the economic crisis and high inflation rates in the context of global productive restructuring. The following principles stand out among the main points defended by reformists: the expectation of improving public services; the belief that private companies can be more efficient and better managed compared to public companies; the search for improving “value for money” (efficiency) in the use of public resources, aiming to benefit society; and the possibility of transferring and sharing risks with the private sector, among other aspects (^{Peci; Sobral, 2007}).

This opened space for the market to commercialize, through partnerships and privatizations, the provision of social services, such as health and education. In other words, there was an attempt to dismantle the Welfare State and a threat to the rights won by citizens through unions (^{Harvey, 2014}).

The English public-private association is known as the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). The public sector is responsible for providing part of the services, while the private partner builds and maintains the infrastructure of the work (^{Peci; Sobral, 2007}). These same authors mention that other countries such as France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, and Brazil, aspiring to greater economic efficiency, have also adopted the use of partnerships, adapting them to their particularities.

In Brazil, discussions about PPP strategies began during the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2002), based on NPM principles (^{Miranda; Azevedo, 2020}). However, these partnerships became official on December 30, 2004, during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government (2003-2010), with the sanction of Federal Law No. 11,079/2004, known as the Public-Private Partnership Law, establishing general rules for bidding and contracting at the federal, state, municipal and Federal District levels. In Brazil, these partnerships are established through sponsored or administrative concession contracts, to attract private investment to sectors lacking public investment.

With the opening of the non-exclusive services sector, the State began to act together with other non-state public organizations in offering services such as education, health and security. This opening allowed the transfer of responsibility and the possibility of involvement of the third sector in the execution of public services (Brazil, 1995). Partnerships with the private sector, based on the principles of managerialism, brought a quasi-market perspective to education. According to ^{Bertolin (2011}, p. 241-242):

The term quasi-market has been used to designate contexts in which, despite the existence of government financing and regulations, some market mechanisms are also present. This means that the term can be used in those situations in which decisions regarding supply and demand are coordinated based on market mechanisms, but only a few fundamental market ingredients are introduced.

This term is polysemic and widely used to describe economic arrangements in which there is a combination of market elements and government action, but not a complete adoption of the free market. Instead, only some essential aspects of the market are introduced, while others are regulated or financed by the government.

It's troubling when the private sector plays a central role in public services, as there may be a lack of transparency and difficulty in ensuring that the public interest is addressed. It is necessary to carefully consider the social implications and impacts on inequalities when adopting the “quasi-market” model, ensuring that the priority is equitable access and quality of services for the whole society, and not only profitable.

Returning to reflections on partnerships in Brazil, according to ^{Peci and Sobral (2007}), they are similar to the concept of PFI used in England, since both seek to improve public services and believe in the potential of private companies. However, it is important to point out that partnerships in Brazil are developed on a smaller scale compared to the concept adopted in England. This difference can be attributed to the stage of development between the two countries, considering that England consolidated its partnership program around a decade before Brazil. In economic terms, therefore, it is important not to equate them.

PPPs are offered in different ways by establishing a partnership with the private sector in which the political society and legal representative of the public articulates the public dimension with the structure of the state apparatus, aligning itself with private interests and deconcentrating certain tasks that historically were attributed to the responsibility of the State. In this sense, concepts present in the private sector were introduced, such as goals, quality, efficiency, and results-based management (^{Newman; Clarke, 2012}).

In Brazil, this articulation was marked by the emergence of the Todos Pela Educação movement in 1990, a period in which neoliberal policies were on the rise in the country and new functions were being attributed to the State. The Todos Pela Educação movement aimed to raise community awareness regarding educational rights and the social responsibility of the group (^{Freitas, 2018}; ^{Shiroma; Campos; Garcia, 2011}). The strategies adopted by this group followed an apparently democratic approach, such as organizing forums and drafting guiding documents. For the business class, the perspective was that education would become part of the market, functioning as such. In this sense, ensuring access to quality education has become the main objective of this group.

The assessment of this interference by the private sector in the public sector in the educational sphere is as follows:

[...] From the businessmen's point of view, it was, however, not only about reforming education and schools, seeking to make them more effective and adequate to the new demands of capital but also about training 'a new type of worker', with subjective and attitudes compatible with the 'so-called knowledge society' [...] (^{Shiroma; Campos; Garcia, 2011}, p. 226).

Based on the quote above, it is inferred that, from the perspective of business education reformers, the proposal for the involvement of the private sector in education was not limited to just reforming the educational system to make it more efficient and adapted to the needs of capital. Beyond that, they sought to form a new type of worker compatible with market demands, emphasizing specific skills and dispositions valued in a knowledge-based society. This vision highlights the influence of business interests in defining educational policies, seeking to shape not only the structure and functioning of schools but also the characteristics and skills of students.

^{Robertson and Verger (2012}) consider Educational Public-Private Partnerships (EPPPs) as an innovative approach to investing in education to a certain extent, but they highlight that there is a dispute between the public and private spheres, in which the latter predominates in this relationship. Even with contracts, agreements, and regulations, advancement in one sector can mean a setback for another. Thus, these authors warn us about the development of a true industry specialized in EPPPs that adapt according to the demands and needs of the market, following the structure of capitalism.

As highlighted by ^{Peroni (2016}), this system of alliances between the private and the public sectors represents a way to directly reach the school and the classroom, thus allowing the business sector to influence the content and method of teaching. This suggests that, despite presenting themselves as investments for the general benefit of education, partnerships often end up serving the particular interests of certain groups, to the detriment of collective well-being, behaving more like a privatization strategy of services and functioning of the public service.

The contractual arrangement for the implementation of partnerships is expressed in some ways, among these “[...] there are partnerships in which private organizations support the area of education through philanthropic activities in which the State develops policies and provides financing while the private partner provides education services” (World Bank, 2006 apud^{Fernandez et al., 2019}, p. 392). Consequently, partnerships are formalized through different types of contracts. Depending on the type of service provided, these contracts can range from construction, management, and maintenance, to the provision of services and operations. Next, we will address some aspects of the expansion of the alliance between the public and private sectors in the educational field, highlighting the implications for school management.

3 Privatization of public school management in state education systems

The states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte are located in the Northeast region of Brazil. Even though they are neighbors, they have very different social, political, and economic characteristics. Considering that education is a social area, we study data that provide an overview of the respective federated entities.

According to data from the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatísticas (IBGE, 2022), in the last census, the state of Ceará had a population of 8,791,688 inhabitants, while the population of Rio Grande do Norte reached the mark of 3,302,406.

From an educational point of view, the data focus is on High School, as this is the stage of Basic Education chosen for this article as a way of studying the implications of EPPPs. For this reason, Rio Grande do Norte, in 2021, reported that it has 468 high schools. Ceará has 955 high schools, a little more than double compared to Rio Grande do Norte (IBGE, 2022).

Regarding enrollments, the state of Ceará reported that it had 367,574. In Rio Grande do Norte, 134,147 registrations. There is a significant difference in the number of enrollments between the states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte. This difference indicates that Ceará has more than double the number of enrollments compared to Rio Grande do Norte.

This disparity can be attributed to several factors, such as the difference in the population size of the states, the educational structure, the availability of educational institutions, educational policies implemented, among others. To better understand the reasons underlying this difference in the number of enrollments between the two states, more data and context are necessary.

Ceará has adopted management strategies since 2003, in line with ongoing educational reforms. This approach was adopted by representatives of different political parties, resulting in the redefinition of the boundaries between the public and private sectors in education (^{Moreira, 2021}). In Rio Grande do Norte, educational reforms to implement EPPPs began in 2005, gradually following some of the steps adopted in Ceará. Next, we will present the developments of these two states, which enabled the participation of the business sector in the management and design of public educational policies within the scope of the implementation of Full-Time High Schools.

4 Final considerations

This work sought to demonstrate the staggering process of public-private alliances in the educational context of the states of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará, at the same time explaining its implications for the management of the EEMTI school.

It was observed that the management guidelines of the private sphere, expressed in the implementation of NPM, are introduced subtly. From this perspective, the State plays the role of financier of results, subjecting school institutions to performance assessments and accountability for control of results and competition administered among them.

One of the convergence points between the two experiences analyzed is that the role of EEMTI managers involved the imposition of business approaches in the administrative and pedagogical management of schools. These changes were significant for the implementation of partnerships with ICE in Rio Grande do Norte and IU in Ceará.

In conclusion, the objective of improving the quality of education, propagated by these institutes, hides their real intentions, which are centered on obtaining profit from the sale of packages and solutions for educational systems. Gradually, autonomy is taken away, due to an instrumental and technical vision (^{Lima, 2011}). In this context of alliances, autonomy becomes misshapen and turns into an operational approach and a form of accountability for specific tasks and responsibilities for public schools.