This report assesses the PPP policy in education in Uganda and its compliance with the human rights standards as well as the right to education for all children. In addition, the report examines issues of regulation and supervision of PPP schools, equitable geographical access to education, access by vulnerable groups, financing and costeffectiveness, as well as quality of education and value for money.

This study investigates the operations of Bridge International Academies in Uganda where it has quickly expand since February 2015, with an estimated 12,000 fee-paying students. The company’s profit-driven, standardised ‘Academy-in- a-Box’ approach involves the neglect of legal and educational standards established by the Government of Uganda. This includes requirements to employ qualified teachers, observe the national curriculum and standards related to school facilities.

RESULTS Educational Fund’s report “From Free to Fee”, investigates World Bank’s basic education investments through its private lending arm (the IFC). The report seeks to explore if IFC investments in education reach the poorest groups and help reduce extreme poverty. From Free to Fee provides evidence from IFC funded schools in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa, and presents recommendations for the World Bank, the IFC, and other investors on how to more effectively end poverty through basic education.  

Based upon Plan International's dataset of 1.4 million sponsored children, the report compares sponsored children with a disability to those without, from 30 countries worldwide. The report, produced in collaboration with London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, reveals that children with disabilities in developing countries are being held back from an education. The findings will help Plan International - and other researchers and organisations - to improve responses to the needs of children with disabilities, particularly their health and education.

This country factsheet on Uganda intends to assist practitioners to identify the key national policies relevant to the right to education, analyse their strengths and weaknesses and detect the gaps between policies and practice, in order to use the empirical data collected to define a human rights advocacy strategy.

It provides an overview of: the obligations of the government to realise the right to education; the instruments (policies, budget…) and mechanisms (commissions, courts…) that exist in the country to implement the right to education; recommendations made by various national and international stakeholders (UN Agencies, NGOs…) on the right to education. This factsheet does not give a comprehensive overview of the policies in the country, but only a snapshot of some key aspects affecting the right to education.

This is a summary of the report submitted in October 2015 to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by 26 organisations across the world including British organisations, organisations based in developing countries, and international organisations. 

Access the original report, here and the update, here

 

This is a brief update of the report submitted in October 2015 to the Committee on the Rights of the Child by 26 organisations across the world including British organisations, organisations based in developing countries, and international organisations.

Access the original report, here and the summary, here

This is a summary of the report submitted in October 2015 to the Committee on the Rights of the Child by 26 organisations across the world including British organisations, organisations based in developing countries, and international organisations.

Access the original report, here and the update, here.
 

The Right to Education Initiative, with the support of international and British organisations as well as teachers' unions have submitted a report to the Committee onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights about the UK's support of the growth of private actors in education through its development aid: questioning its responsibilities as regards its human rights extra-territorial obligations.

The report raises concern about the increased use of British aid money to support for-profit schools, in particular so-called ‘low-fee’ private schools, which are fuelling inequality, creating segregation and undermining the right to education.

The report finds that the UK’s policies in support of private education through its development aid are problematic and that the country could be violating its extra-territorial obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in two regards:

  • Firstly, the UK’s support for for-profit, fee-charging private schools that do not reach the poorest is questioned in light of the UK’s obligations to fulfil the right to education, including the right to free quality education without discrimination;   
  • Secondly, the UK’s responsibility is questioned in particular in relation to its own impact assessments that have been conducted on its policies of providing support to private schools and which have concluded that projects supporting private education providers are less likely to target the most marginalised, and that more research needs to be carried out on the impact of private schools in developing countries on, among other elements, the efficiency of “low-fee” private schools.

See also the summary and update of the report.

For the past 18 months, a number of international, national and local organisations have been working together to research and assess the effects of the growth of private education from a human rights perspective in 8 countries. This work, led by the Global Initiative on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) in Partnership with the Privatisation in Education Research Initiative (PERI) and the Right to Education Initiative (RTE), has produced an effective methodology that civil society can use to tackle privatisation in their countries.

This work has been conducted in Morocco, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Brazil, Chile and Nepal. In the UK, organisations have examined the impact of development aid to support to private education in developing countries.

This strategy has been very successful in producing statements and recommendations from key UN human rights bodies. The work has also contributed to reports by the Special Rapporteur on the right to education to the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council on the impact of private actors on the right to education. Advocacy at the international level has fuelled national advocacy and dialogue with governments, private actors and other stakeholders on this issue.

There is a unique opportunity for civil society to tackle complex issues of privatisation in education by using this framework. The methodology can easily be replicated by your coalition, even if you have no experience using human rights mechanisms. This 3-part series explains this work in more detail and how your coalition can get involved. The documents are designed as an introduction. 

Part 1 on Private Actors in Education & Human Rights: A Practical Methodology to Tackle the Negative Effects of Privatisation in Education on the Right to Education is available, here

Part 2 on How to Use Human Rights Mechanisms is available, here.

FRANCAIS

 

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