The new book Progressive Lab for Sustainable Development: From vision to action is a joint initiative of FEPS, the S&D group and SOLIDAR. Published in the context of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015, it seeks to offer the EU ideas on how to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in a sustainable model respecting human rights over economic privileges of vested interest groups. The nine contributions in the book provide ideas on how the EU can tackle global challenges such as growing inequalities, biased trade and investment strategies, growing corporate power and the shrinking funding available for development cooperation.

Addressing SDG 4 on quality education, Sylvain Aubry and Zizipho Zondani from the GI-ESCR have contributed the chapter Learning the lesson: Why the EU should defend an alternative model to the privatisation of education. This provides the EU with an overview on privatisation of education in developing countries that has occurred over the past 15 years, offering a human rights perspective on the phenomenon. The chapter considers the responsibilities and obligations of institutional donors who have supported commercial low-cost private schools, highlighting the emerging concerns by considering the case of the UK who support commercial low-cost schools in their development cooperation.

This reflection on the privatisation of education offers the EU lessons that could be learnt in its own development cooperation. In an assessment of EU development policies of the past 15 years it is seen that the EU has been supportive of public and non-profit education actors. However in recent years the EU has increasingly become supportive of a role for the private sector in development but remains ambiguous on its position regarding the funding of private actors in education. As the support of private actors in education could constitute a violation of international human rights and undermine the achievement of SDG 4, this chapter provides the EU with recommendations for an approach to development that respects human rights and is committed to good quality, free education.

Read Learning the Lesson: Why the EU should defend an alternative model to the privatisation of education here.

The full publication can be accessed here.