Conclusion

The 2009 edition of KPMG's Infrastructure Spotlight Report on educational outcomes confirms that the findings from last year do persist when the analysis is repeated on an enhanced dataset.

This year's key findings are as follows

•  The rate of improvement in student attainment is 44 percent higher in PFI schools than in conventional schools

•  Unauthorised absence in PFI schools is decreasing whereas in conventional schools it is doing just the opposite. We have not speculated on the underlying reasons but instead invite discussion on the topic

The findings presented in this report do raise some interesting issues The UK is planning to replace all secondary schools in England through its Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Some of the schools are procured through PFI and some using the design-and-build, i.e. conventional, method. The current economic climate is tilting the balance away from PFI Our findings do, however, suggest that firmer defence of the PFI component of BSF should be considered

Globally, a number of governments are planning to replace their aging school portfolios with considerable amounts of funding for infrastructure being made available as stimulus packages Our analysis does support a careful consideration of whether to involve private finance in the rebuilding of schools, and whether stimulus funding should be allocated to areas where private finance appears to have less impact.