School vouchers

A school voucher, also called an education voucher, in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for a student at a school chosen by the student or the student's parents. The funding is usually for a particular year, term or semester. In some countries, states or local jurisdictions, the voucher can be used to cover or reimburse home schooling expenses. In some countries, vouchers only exist for tuition at private schools.

The oldest continuing school voucher programs existing today in the United States are the Town Tuitioning programs in Vermont and Maine, beginning in 1869 and 1873 respectively. Because some towns in these states operate neither local high schools nor elementary schools, students in these towns "are eligible for a voucher to attend [either] public schools in other towns or non-religious private schools. In these cases, the 'sending' towns pay tuition directly to the 'receiving' schools."

A system of educational vouchers was introduced in the Netherlands in 1917. Today, more than 70% of pupils attend privately run but publicly funded schools, mostly split along denominational lines.

Milton Friedman argued for the modern concept of vouchers in the 1950s, stating that competition would improve schools and cost efficiency. The view further gained popularity with the 1980 TV broadcast of Friedman's book Free to Choose for which video chapter 6 was devoted entirely to promoting educational freedom through programs like school vouchers.

In some Southern states during the 1960s, school vouchers were used as a way to perpetuate segregation. In a few instances, public schools were closed outright and vouchers were issued to parents. The vouchers, in many cases, were only good at privately segregated schools, known as segregation academies.

In 2005, Dr. Allah Bakhsh Malik Managing Director Punjab Education Foundation, under the supervision of Professor Henry M. Levin introduced Education Vouchers scheme in Pakistan with the features of equity, productivity, social cohesion and freedom of choice. Today, all modern voucher programs prohibit racial discrimination.

There are important distinctions between different kinds of schools:

Proponents of school voucher and education tax credit systems argue that those systems promote free market competition among both private and public schools by allowing parents and students to choose the school where to use the vouchers. This choice available to parents forces schools to perpetually improve in order to maintain enrollment. Thus, proponents argue that a voucher system increases school performance and accountability because it provides consumer sovereignty – allowing individuals to choose what product to buy, as opposed to a bureaucracy.

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