Ei-iE

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Fighting the commercialisation of education

Education is a human right and a public good that can be fully realised only through the provision of free, equitable, inclusive, quality public education. The growing commercialisation and privatisation in and of the sector is the greatest threat to the universal right to education.

Across the world, corporate interests are striving to transform all levels of education, from early childhood to higher education, into yet another market with winners and losers. As private-sector management models are applied to education institutions, employment conditions in the sector are being undermined. As low-fee, low-quality private schools expand rapidly, there is a risk that governments abrogate their responsibility to ensure the right to education for all. Unaccountable corporations have undue influence on education policies and institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this trend which risks transforming education into a commodity, favouring profit over quality education.

As educators, we put students before profit. In 2015 we launched our Global Response to the Commercialisation and Privatisation of Education. Through this campaign, we work to expose and challenge the policies and practices of governments, intergovernmental organisations and international financial institutions which undermine public education and the rights and status of teachers and education support personnel. We also resist global corporate actors, especially education technology providers, who push the commercialisation and privatisation in and of education.

Our work in this area

  1. Statements 16 March 2022

    World Bank to exit investment in for-profit school chain Bridge International Academies

    Education International (EI) welcomes the decision from the World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to stop investing in the for-profit chain of schools, Bridge International Academies. The IFC had invested more than US$ 10 million in Bridge International Academies operations in Africa and supported the company's...

    World Bank to exit investment in for-profit school chain Bridge International Academies
  2. Research

    Time to turn the tide: Privatisation trends in education in the Caribbean

    Steven J. Courtney, Rinnelle Lee-Piggott
    9 February 2022

    This report is an initial mapping of education privatisation trends in the Caribbean region and will form the basis for further analysis and union action. It draws attention to favourable conditions for privatisation across the region, including a chronic underfunding of public education systems.

    Time to turn the tide: Privatisation trends in education in the Caribbean
    1. Time to turn the tide: Privatisation trends in education in the Caribbean - full research paper
    2. Time to turn the tide: Privatisation trends in education in the Caribbean - Summary of findings
  3. Worlds of Education 9 February 2022

    Privatisation Trends in Education in the Caribbean

    Steven J. Courtney, Rinnelle Lee-Piggott

    Privatisation has been a focus of education research for many years, particularly in western liberal democracies. However, the phenomenon is relatively under-researched within the Caribbean region. This matters.

    Privatisation Trends in Education in the Caribbean
  4. Worlds of Education 28 January 2022

    Challenging global tech giants: the critical role of Global labour

    Carmen Ludwig, Edward Webster

    In a recent research paper, Carmen Ludwig and Edward Webster examined the role of global unions to contest the use and abuse of digital technology through transnational activism in two African contexts. Action included work with Education International’s Global Response against the privatisation of education.

    Challenging global tech giants: the critical role of Global labour
  5. Statements 13 December 2021

    Better education financing and regulation of private interests is urgent to ensure equitable, inclusive, and resilient education systems

    Education International responds to the 2021 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report "Non-state actors in education: Who chooses, who loses?"

    The 2021/2022 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM Report) analyses the role and involvement of state and non-state actors in education and in the education sector. The stated aim of the report is to consider non-state actors in education ‘through the lens of equity and inclusion’, which were among the...

    Better education financing and regulation of private interests is urgent to ensure equitable, inclusive, and resilient education systems
  6. News 15 November 2021

    Nepal: Educators reaffirm the need for just and progressive taxation to increase public financing of education

    The need to fund education through public funding and the importance of progressive taxation to increase public resources were at the heart of a recent capacity building workshop on tax justice and education funding in Nepal. The workshop was organised by the Education International Asia-Pacific (EIAP) office for member organisations...

    Nepal: Educators reaffirm the need for just and progressive taxation to increase public financing of education
  7. Worlds of Education 5 August 2021

    The militarisation of schools in Brazil: a threat to the educational process and to democracy.

    Fátima da Silva

    The election of Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil in 2018, led not only to a process of deregulating the economy, but it also brought with it a new educational agenda for the country. Despite already existing in different ways before his election, the standard bearers of what is known...

    The militarisation of schools in Brazil: a threat to the educational process and to democracy.
  8. News 12 July 2021

    Educators in the Arab countries ready to rebuild education systems despite challenges

    The COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive loss of human life and an unprecedented challenge to public health, education systems and the economy in the Arab region. Education unions remain committed to quality education, advocating for their students and members and rebuilding with equity.

    Educators in the Arab countries ready to rebuild education systems despite challenges
  9. Worlds of Education 23 June 2021

    "Celebrating the value and virtue of public service."

    David Edwards

    United Nations Public Service Day was established by the General Assembly in 2002. It “celebrates the value and virtue of public service to the community; highlights the contribution of public service in the development process; recognizes the work of public servants and encourages young people to pursue careers in the...

    "Celebrating the value and virtue of public service."
  10. Worlds of Education 21 June 2021

    “The mutation of cultural species in the digital ecosystem.”

    Omar Rincón

    We are living through a cultural mutation that has driven the digital revolution, as very poetically documented by the writer Alessandro Barrico (2008, 2019), when he speaks of a “barbaric mutation”, which makes us live “amphibiously between two civilisations”. This mutation has meant that in the 20th century, there has...

    “The mutation of cultural species in the digital ecosystem.”
  11. Worlds of Education 31 May 2021

    “Privatised education: the virus exposed by the pandemic.”

    Shelley L. Morse

    As Covid-19 continues to reap havoc and draw the public’s attention, governments across Canada are sharing a privatisation playbook as they use the pandemic as cover to transform publicly funded public education.

    “Privatised education: the virus exposed by the pandemic.”
  12. Worlds of Education 21 May 2021

    "Virtual education: some things matter"

    Esteban Magnani

    Big tech companies have found data to be an invaluable source of profit. What is data used for? Should schools become a conduit for companies to become even wealthier? How can it be avoided? As part of the series of conferences “Digital culture and education” organized by Education International Latin...

    "Virtual education: some things matter"
  13. Worlds of Education 18 May 2021

    “Commitment to social dialogue in education in the European Union: rhetoric or game-changer?”

    Tore Bernt Sorensen, Emiliano Grimaldi, Tomasz Gajderowicz

    Structures that ensure the meaningful representation of the education workforce in social dialogue with employers are fundamental for effective reform and quality education. Yet, little is known about the relationship between social dialogue, privatisation and trends in education reform in the scientific literature.

    “Commitment to social dialogue in education in the European Union: rhetoric or game-changer?”
  14. News 15 May 2021

    World Education Support Personnel Day: Pandemic, Privatisation and Public Education

    Education International fixed 16 May of every year as a day to recognise Education Support Personnel (ESP). The day focuses on rights and status of these  education workers, has called attention internationally to the essential role of ESP.

    World Education Support Personnel Day: Pandemic, Privatisation and Public Education
  15. Worlds of Education 27 April 2021

    “Investing in education: a must for post-pandemic recovery and SDG progress”, by Dennis Sinyolo

    Dennis Sinyolo

    The COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage communities and test education systems around the world. Evidence from Education International’s surveys on the impact of COVID-19 on education shows that the equity and quality gaps have widened because of the pandemic (see for examplehere andhere) .

    “Investing in education: a must for post-pandemic recovery and SDG progress”, by Dennis Sinyolo
  16. Worlds of Education 12 April 2021

    “On Edtech, the public good, and democracy”

    David Edwards

    The COVID-19 pandemic has brought death and despair. However, it has also sharpened our vision. We have seen dangers more clearly and trends that were threatening the health of our societies. In some areas, like inequality, it is apparent to everybody. In others, however, risky developments are partially hidden. These...

    “On Edtech, the public good, and democracy”
  17. News 6 April 2021

    Europe: Study on industrial relations and privatisation

    A study for the ETUCE, EI’s European region, showed the impact of market ideology and management practices and privatisation on industrial relations and social dialogue. In addition to looking at the evolution of EU policy in the past decade, researchers studied different methods and results of industrial relations in Francophone...

    Europe: Study on industrial relations and privatisation