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. News 19 October 2023

    Top Asia-Pacific education unionists advocate for increased investment in public education systems and educators, and call for gender equity, and sustainable, democratic and peaceful societies

    The Education International Asia-Pacific (EIAP) Regional Committee called for a greater investment in public education and educators, more for gender equity within unions, urgent action on climate change and expressed solidarity with colleagues across the region and the world who are facing violations of their human and trade union rights.

    Top Asia-Pacific education unionists advocate for increased investment in public education systems and educators, and call for gender equity, and sustainable, democratic and peaceful societies
  2. Research

    The Unintended Consequences of Artificial Intelligence and Education

    Wayne Holmes
    18 October 2023

    This report sets out to provide an analysis of the current state of artificial intelligence and education, including its potential benefits and risks, as well as the role of teachers and teacher trade unionists in ensuring that teaching with and about artificial intelligence is aligned with the principles of social...

    The Unintended Consequences of Artificial Intelligence and Education
    1. Research Paper
    2. Executive Summary
  3. Worlds of Education 29 September 2023

    Copyright in education: bringing the classroom to life

    Dr Dara Dimitrov

    As the daughter of a refugee, education as a necessity was drummed into me. ‘You need to get a good education’ was my father’s lead mantra. My father was denied that right, and although he spoke seven languages, he could barely read one. My father saw education as a way...

    Copyright in education: bringing the classroom to life
  4. News 13 September 2023

    Iraq: Arab educators demand increased investment in public education and teachers

    A delegation from Education International (EI) travelled to Baghdad, Iraq, where they met with the president and prime minister and along with the Iraqi Teachers’ Union and member organisations in Arab countries launched the EI flagship campaign Go Public! Fund Education .

    Iraq: Arab educators demand increased investment in public education and teachers
  5. News 8 September 2023

    India: Unionists march to demand a respected and valued teaching profession

    Teachers from the All-India Primary Teachers’ Federation (AIPTF) took to the streets and launched the ‘Bharat Yatra’ campaign on National Teachers’ Day, September 5th, demanding the re-instatement of pension benefits of all teachers and government employees. They will continue their march until October 5th, World Teachers Day.

    India: Unionists march to demand a respected and valued teaching profession
  6. Worlds of Education 27 July 2023

    Education unions grappling with Artificial Intelligence: we snooze, we lose.

    Rob Weil

    There is a lot of speculation regarding the future of teaching and learning in compulsory education, especially with recent developments in technology. The world-wide release of ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence platforms have created a plethora of new, even more difficult, questions. What role will these AI systems play...

    Education unions grappling with Artificial Intelligence: we snooze, we lose.
  7. News 5 July 2023

    Go Public! Advocating for progressive taxation to fund public education in Nepal

    Education leaders and representatives from civil society came together at a three-day capacity building workshop in Nepal with a pressing agenda: to address the urgent need for increased domestic funding in the country's public education system. Their primary objective was to strengthen public education financing and advocate for the implementation...

    Go Public! Advocating for progressive taxation to fund public education in Nepal
  8. News 30 June 2023

    Teachers Go Public to Transform Education in India

    Under the theme – Teachers at the heart of transforming education in India, more than 25 thousand members of the All-India Primary Teachers' Federation (AIPTF) attended their 29th Biennial Conference held on 12 – 13 May at Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat).

    Teachers Go Public to Transform Education in India
  9. News 28 June 2023

    Strengthening education in Africa: uniting for tax justice and increased public funding

    Educators in Africa came together for the Education Financing Forum: Go Public! Fund Education in Accra, Ghana from 21-22 June. The event, held in collaboration with the TaxEd Alliance, aimed to strengthen education unions' capacity in advocating for fair and just taxation to fully fund public education systems.

    Strengthening education in Africa: uniting for tax justice and increased public funding
  10. Worlds of Education 26 June 2023

    Decolonising education: sovereign and fiscally-just budgets for public education

    Latin American Observatory of Education Policies

    Decolonising education financing – the theme of this year’s Global Action Week for Education – rests on decolonising the very concepts of development, state management, public policy, working relationships, pedagogical approaches and collaboration between peoples and their governments.

    Decolonising education: sovereign and fiscally-just budgets for public education
  11. News 23 June 2023

    Go Public! Finance quality, equitable, and inclusive education in Africa

    Top education union leaders from Cameroon, Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia took stock of gains in their fight against education privatisation through the Education International (EI) Global Response campaign and committed to continue these efforts through EI's Go Public! Fund Education campaign to mobilise to fully fund public education systems and...

    Go Public! Finance quality, equitable, and inclusive education in Africa
  12. Worlds of Education 20 June 2023

    Social justice without quality public education and teachers?

    José Olivera

    The International Labour Organisation (ILO) held its 111th annual conference in Geneva (Switzerland) from 5 to 16 June. The ILO is the only tripartite body of the United Nations system that brings together representatives of the labour sector, governments and employers to address a range of issues pertaining to the...

    Social justice without quality public education and teachers?
  13. News 14 June 2023

    Educators in South Asia go public to fund education

    Over 140 union delegates from South Asian countries including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal came together to reflect and learn from each other to play an active role in transforming education in South Asia.

    Educators in South Asia go public to fund education
  14. News 12 June 2023

    ComNet: Communicators working together to change the narrative around public education

    Around 100 communicators working in education unions gathered online on June 1st as part of Education International (EI) Communicators’ Network (ComNet). They reconnected, exchanged experiences and ideas, and got ready to bring the EI “Go Public! Fund Education” campaign forward.

    ComNet: Communicators working together to change the narrative around public education
  15. News 22 May 2023

    Romania: educators' wages must be increased

    Unhappy with their wages, which they consider humiliating, Romanian educators have mobilised for an indefinite all-out strike to demand better pay for their work and recognition of its social importance.

    Romania: educators' wages must be increased
  16. News 12 May 2023

    Romania: Public authorities must finance education now!

    Around 20,000 education unionists, educators, and concerned citizens protested on May 10th in the Romanian capital city of Bucharest to demand increased investment in education, joining the Education International (EI) “Go Public! Fund Education” campaign.

    Romania: Public authorities must finance education now!
  17. News 20 April 2023

    Go Public! Fund Education: Global campaign launched in Latin America

    Education International affiliates from across the region came together to coordinate their work on the new global campaign and to urge governments to invest more in public education in their countries.

    Go Public! Fund Education: Global campaign launched in Latin America