In view of the foregoing, private education is making great strides in many countries in the world. The right to educate and the right freely to choose an education require also a passive State that allows and safeguards the existence of private education. The principle of freedom of education implies the co-existence of public and private education, as neither can always provide the necessary quality and quantity of education. In many countries, private education not only relieves the pressure on public education, but also contributes to greater diversity, independence, and innovation in education and training, while it increases efficiency and quality, as it provides competition for public institutions. In the 1980s, private education made especially great strides in South American countries.
Some experts even believe that private education saved many countries from social revolution.
In Central America the presence of private universities is concentrated on the offer of careers strongly oriented to the market involving, for example, two-thirds of the enrolments in social sciences. In Chile, the increasing presence of private institutions has combined with a deconcentration process of the large public universities, the regional units of which have been granted autonomy. Mexico also serves as a good example. Universities such as Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford are private institutions enjoying international esteem. The advantages of a private education sector, functioning in close cooperation with the public education sector, and with the necessary control mechanisms to uphold academic standards and guard against the exploitation of students are obvious.