During the past decade there has been a rapid increase in the number of private providers of education in many developing countries, with many schools and educational establishments not being registered and being funded and managed by individual proprietors or enterprises. Such providers are distinct from other non-State actors, such as religious institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based groups, foundations and trusts. As a result, education is being commercialized and for-profit education is flourishing as an attractive business, with scant control by pubic authorities. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur looks at the rapid growth in private providers, which is resulting in the commercialization of education, and examines the negative effects of such commercialization on the norms and principles and legal frameworks underlying the right to education as established by international human rights treaties. He also highlights the repercussions of privatization on the principles of social justice and equity, underlining the need for safeguarding education as a public good.

Building upon his 2014 report to the General Assembly (A/69/402), the Special Rapporteur analyses education laws and evolving jurisprudence related to privatization. Finally, he offers a set of recommendations for developing effective regulatory frameworks for controlling private providers in education, in keeping with State obligations on the right to education as laid down in international human rights conventions.

For Full 24-Page Report, go to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session29/Pages/ListReports.aspx

Source: WUNRN, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education

30.07.2015