Aïcha Bah Diallo, former Minister of Education in Guinea and President of Action Education, speaks out against the growing privatisation of education systems à On the occasion of the second edition of the day of mobilisation against the commodification of education (22 September), an event organised by the Francophone network against the commodification of education.
The 196 states that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child have committed themselves to ensuring inclusive and free education for all children. This commitment was reaffirmed at various international summits, notably in 2015 with the adoption at the United Nations General Assembly of Sustainable Development Goal 4 which aims to ensure that by 2030 everyone has access to free, inclusive, quality education throughout life. Nevertheless, in recent years private actors, including foreign multinationals, have been increasing their involvement in the education sector, particularly in low-income countries.
Unprecedented private sector growth
" In the past, public schools were attended by children of rich parents. Now we are seeing an unprecedented growth of low-cost, low-quality public schools in poor neighbourhoods and villages in many low-income countries. This threatens to totally transform the already weak education system. The state often does not define the content and the control of the conformity of the educational tasks performed by the private sector "Aïcha Bah Diallo, President of Action Education and former Minister of Education in Guinea, warns in a video to be broadcast on 22 September 2022 at the opening of the conference of a webinar dedicated to the fight against the commodification of education.
A day of mobilisation for free, quality public education
The event, organised by the Francophone Network against the commodification of educationA coalition of 317 organisations has produced a report on the state of educational deprivation in Africa. The aim is to highlight the growing trend of privatisation in Africa, the issues at stake, and the threats that this poses to the effectiveness of the right to education. This day of mobilisation will notably allow us to come back to The Francophone civil society appeal against the commodification of educationThe aim of this initiative is to promote the development of the French-speaking world by signing the Declaration of the French-speaking world, signed by more than 400 organisations from 43 countries in the French-speaking world, including Action Education, and to call on decision-makers to regulate private actors in education and to guarantee access to quality public education for all people.
