GI-ESCR, together with partners, is launching a new and important study on public education, titled “Public education works: lessons from five case-studies in low- and middle- income countries”. The study shows that well-organised public education systems are possible and working everywhere, with political will and use of locally relevant practices.

Process and research methodology

The study aimed to identify, document and analyse positive examples of public education around the world. Positive examples provide clear and concrete examples of an effort to realise the right to education, presenting lessons learned and/or ways to replicate such approaches. They comprise features such as equity, quality, and success.

The cases presented in the study, namely Bolivia and Ecuador, Brazil, Cuba, Namibia, and Vietnam, were selected by education experts from academia and civil society and were reviewed by several local and 13 international civil society organisations and peer-reviewed by academic researchers. They represent a geographic diversity and were selected against the criteria of a “success framework”, drawing in particular from the understanding of existing human rights law unpacked in the Abidjan Principles on the right to education. The criteria for success were organised in three clusters that are aligned with the right to education:

1. Fundamental Transversal principles: these are transversal criteria and all cases should address one or more of these elements -– inclusion, equity and quality (with a social and participatory perspective).

2. Governance and management: practices concerned with how education is managed (at school or government levels), namely financing, transparency and accountability, teachers’ working conditions and participatory/democratic governance.

3. Pedagogy: practices concerned with how education is delivered, namely a holistic curriculum and a formative assessment.

The cases challenge the disseminated idea that public education needs privatisation for quality and point to a rights-aligned and socially committed definition of quality – including the aim for social inclusion and equity, the engagement of community and local actors, valuing teachers and respecting local culture.  It concludes that public education must be the way forward for building more equal, just and sustainable societies.

“The cases of Ecuador and Bolivia illustrate how education is seen as a tool to enact a societal project, whilst it is also a product of this specific social context. Thus, the values, social structures and culture are all reflected, included and valued in the education system and, at the same time, education is planned to work in favour of a desired society.”  or “… the case of Bolivia illustrates how the improvement of public education is able to limit or reverse privatisation (at least to a point), by attracting the families that had opted for private schools. This reversal did not depend on the regulation of private schools, but rather improving and strengthening public education.” 

The launch of this research is a follow-up to the publication of a policy brief released ahead of the Global Partnership for Education summit in July 2021. Its release during the virtual session of the World Bank’s Civil Society Policy Forum adds to the call on the World Bank and other investors to prioritize their support for public education in their efforts to build back more resilient and equitable education systems for all. 

The research is available in three formats: a Working paper, Research brief. and Policy brief

To support the publicity of this study please share the above links as widely as possible through your networks and social media platforms using the hashtag #PublicEducationWorks.