Civil society organisations call on other investors in Bridge International Academies to divest urgently and to address concerns raised
Download the full statement in English: Download the full statement in French:
UK’s development finance ‘harming society and the environment’: civil society organisations respond to critical report by UK Parliamentary International Development Committee
Joint civil society organisation statement in response to Report on Investment for development – The UK’s Strategy towards Development Finance Initiatives Read and download the full statement:
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, 38 signatory civil society organisations raise serious concerns about the potential implications of the recently released working paper “Can Education be Standardized? Evidence from Kenya“. Read and download the full statement:
Statement: Civil society groups applaud IFC’s decision to stop investing in fee-charging private schools, call on other investors to follow its lead
Civil society organizations welcome the announcement from the World Bank’s InternationalFinance Corporation (IFC) that it will not resume its investments in K-12 private schools,following the release of an independent evaluation by the World Bank Independent EvaluationGroup (IEG) on the IFC’s investments in this area. In 2020, the IFC instituted a temporary freezeon all direct and indirect investments in for-profit fee-charging […]
Statement: Civil society groups celebrate IFC’s divestment from profit-driven school chain Bridge International Academies
The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has quietly divested from New Globe Schools, better known as Bridge International Academies (BIA), a for-profit school chain operating in four African countries and India. The IFC has invested a total of $13.5 million in BIA since 2014, with the intention of supporting the company’s expansion to other countries. In response, Anderson Miamen, […]
Open Letter: Call on World Education Leaders to Use Multi-billion Dollars Funding to Support Public Education
As Ministers of education and other leading stakeholders in education meet on 28-29 July 2021 at the Global Education Summit, 37 CSOs call on governments to make robust funding commitments for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and urge GPE and its partners to use the money raised during the summit in support of free public education and to ensure […]
Blog: Re-building resilient education systems: three lessons on the privatisation of education emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic
It is well-known that the disruptions to education due to COVID-19 are enormous. In order to understand the full effects of the pandemic, members of the Privatisation Education and Human Rights Consortium, an informal network of national, regional and global organisations and individuals who collaborate to analyse and respond to the challenges posed by the rapid growth of private actors […]
Statement: Endorsement of the International Finance Corporation Decision to Move Away from For-Profit Education Investments
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has set a new precedent in upholding the right to education in an official commitment to freeze investments in private for-profit pre-primary, primary, and secondary (also called “K-12”) schools. The signatory organisations applaud this landmark decision by the IFC, which responds to the concerns voiced by civil society about the effects on […]
Open Letter: World Bank – ensure development aid for education supports public provision
In October 2019, over 170 organisations urged the World Bank to ensure that development aid for education is used to support the public provision of free, quality education that benefits all without discrimination of any kind, such as discrimination based on socio-economic disadvantage, caste, gender identity, race or disability. Originally published on the Oxfam website: https://www-cdn.oxfam.org/s3fs-public/letter_world_bank_october_2019.pdf
Blog: What education activists say and do about the privatization of education
Education civil society and human rights activists convened in Abidjan last month for the annual global meeting of the Privatization in Education and Human Rights Consortium (PEHRC). Delegates from all around the world met to discuss the adoption of the Abidjan Principles, a human rights-based document to describe State’s obligations to provide free, public and inclusive education, as well as to […]
Open Letter: Calling attention of investors to concerning evidence regarding Bridge International Academies
In March 2018, a group of 88 civil society organisations sent a letter to all current and prospective investors in Bridge International Academies to call attention to a large body of evidence from various independent sources, including journalists, governments, former BIA staff, independent experts and civil society, that raised alarms about BIA. These included concerns about the quality of education, […]
Statement: Bridge International Academies must respect the right to education and comply with Ugandan Government order to close its schools
(Kampala, Nairobi, Dakar) Following the decision of the Government of Uganda to close Bridge International Academies in in the country, after 18 months of investigation and court battles, civil society organizations call on the US-based company to comply with the Government decision and stop undermining the right to education. In a press release dated 6 February 2018, the Government of […]
Open Letter: Call on investors to cease support to Bridge International Academies
In May 2015, 116 civil society organisations published a statement raising concerns about the costs, impact and quality of Bridge International Academies (BIA), and responding to misleading information about its approach. Since then, evidence from various sources, including the United Nations (UN), a United Kingdom (UK) parliamentary enquiry, independent research reports, and independent media reports, has confirmed these concerns and […]
Statement: Uganda judgement on the closure of Bridge International Academies must signal a move toward fulfilling the right to education
The 15 organisations endorsing this statement take note of the decision taken by the HighCourt of Uganda sitting in Kampala on Friday 4th November which confirms that the processfollowed by the Ugandan Government to decide to close schools run by Bridge InternationalAcademies (BIA) was fair and legal. The judgment, which BIA says it will appeal, confirmsthat Bridge International Academies could […]
Statement: Response to World Bank President Jim Kim’s speech “Ending Extreme Poverty by 2030: The Final Push”
Concerned community members and civil society organisations in Kenya and Uganda released this response to President Jim Kim’s speech praising the for-profit, fee-charging chain of private primary schools, Bridge International Academies. The statement rebuts the claim that school fees at BIA are “just” $6 per month, as well as the claim that the World Bank can help end poverty by […]