Abstract
In the environment of higher education, the debate about the public or private character of the institutions and their services has become relevant. The use of the words such as “public good”, “private good” and “public sphere”, among others, has started to become part of the debates in the field. However, what is in fact public and what is in fact private in higher education? Aiming to contribute to answer these questions, this article tries to reinforce the theoretical argument that higher education is not public or private, as well as to demonstrate through systematization that empirical reality of higher education complies with this proposition. Thus, we have shown that a revision of concepts on what is public and private in higher education is necessary, in order to overcome ideological bias tendencies.
Keywords
higher education; public goods; private goods; public sphere