RTE and more than 200 organisations and trade unions call for the adoption of the Africa Group resolution on a UN Tax Convention

On 11 October 2023, the Africa Group at the United Nations tabled a proposal calling for a comprehensive UN tax convention. Now, over 200 organisations and trade unions, among them RTE, have sent a letter to governments calling for the adoption of the Africa Group’s resolution, and stressing that this issue should be treated as a matter of highest priority and urgency.

Demanding accountability: Joint statement in response to reports of a child sexual abuse cover up at the World Bank

A statement signed by 33 organisations who are gravely concerned about the recent media report of child sexual abuse at Bridge International Academies in Kenya, and allegations that the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) for years turned a blind eye to the abuse.

New beginnings: The right to equality and early childhood care and education

While South Africa has seen important advances in the provision of early childhood care and education (ECCE), about 3.2 million children still lack access to any programme. Problems of access and quality are most pronounced in the poorest communities. Even before Covid-19 forced many providers to close, these programmes were overcrowded, with poor infrastructure, and an under-paid and under-qualified workforce. ECCE is crucial for a child’s development, meaning that these inequalities are amplified in school and later life.

La Commission africaine lance une Observation générale historique sur les services publics

Décalaration faite par l'Initiative pour le droit à l'éducation, et 68 autres organisations de la société civile du monde entier, saluant la publication le 24 November 2022 de l'Observation générale 7 sur les obligations des États en vertu de la Charte africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples dans le contexte de la prestation privée de services sociaux, par la Commission africaine des droits de l'Homme et des peuples.

African Commission launches landmark General Comment on public services

Statement made by the Right to Education Initiative along with 68civil society organisations from all over the world welcoming the publication on 24 November 2022 of the landmark General Comment No. 7 on State obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the context of private provision of public services by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

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Les organisations de la société civile soulignent les limites de la nouvelle étude sur le modèle éducatif des écoles Bridge (Bridge International Academies) et appellent à la prudence dans l'interprétation des résultats

À la lumière des normes relatives aux droits de l'Homme concernant le droit à l'éducation et de l'objectif de développement durable (ODD) 4, les organisations de la société civile signataires cidessous expriment de sérieuses inquiétudes quant aux implications potentielles de l’étude récemment publiée "Can Education be Standardized ? Evidence from Kenya" (L'Éducation peutelle être standardisée ? Données du Kenya).

Civil society organisations highlight limitations of new study on Bridge International Academies’ education model, and urge caution in interpreting findings

In the light of human rights standards on the right to education and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, the signatory civil society organisations below raise serious concerns about the potential implications of the recently released working paper “Can Education be Standardized? Evidence from Kenya". We urge governments and other actors to recognise the limitations of this study, which some will seek to use to justify the expansion of for-profit private provision of education and scripted teaching methods.

Motala and Another v University of Natal (Supreme Court of South Africa; 1995)

In 1995, the parents of an Indian pupil brought a case against University of Natal because her application to medical school was rejected despite the satisfactory results she obtained in her qualifying examinations. They claimed that the admission process was discriminatory because it did not consider all the applications equally, but set higher admission standards for Indian students and lower ones for African students.

Low-Fee Private Schools, the State, and Globalization: A Market Analysis within the Political Sociology of Education and Development

This study investigates the emergence and supply-demand dynamics of a market for low-fee private schools (LFPS) at the level of early childhood care and education (ECCE) in a slum of Lusaka, Zambia. Based on data collection over 1.5 years, the study reveals that, despite a government policy to support ECE, over 90 per cent of ECCE centres are private; that school operators tend to be former teachers, businessmen/women, and religious leaders; and that LFPSs charge, on average, 2.5 times as much as government ECCE centres for tuition, not including additional indirect costs.

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