The rapid growth of low-fee commercial schools has been at the centre of debates on education in the last two decades. On the one hand, those in favour of this phenomenon argue that commercial models present a potential “solution” to the corruption problems confronting the public sectors of so-called developing countries so far as they inherently improve accountability and transparency. On the other hand, this large-scale expansion of commercial actors has been criticised by many for undermining human rights.

Please join this webinar, - This event has been cancelled - to take place on December 7 at 2pm CET, where we will introduce the first findings in a case-study of Bridge International Academies as an entry point for a broader discussion, with perspectives from domestic experiences in Kenya and Liberia, transparency anti-corruption specialists, as well as the view of education funders on how to improve transparency to support the realisation of the right to education in fragile contexts.

Acknowledging the complexities of the discussion on transparency and accountability, GI-ESCR’s first findings demonstrates that contrary to the dominant narrative in development policy, commercial private actors do not automatically contribute to improving transparency and accountability in education, and may indeed even increase transparency risks.

This brief will provide a starting point for a discussion on the role and the limitations of the private sector for improving transparency in public education, and more generally, in public services, and highlight the importance of the role of the public sector, including for both national governments and donors to work together to improve the processes and capacities for public authorities to uphold transparency and accountability and strengthening the civic space. 

Our speakers will be:

• Sylvain Aubry, Director of Law and Policy at the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

• Johnstone Shisanya, Project Manager Education Support Project, East African Centre for Human Rights.

• Anderson Miamen, National Coordinator, Coalition for Transparency and Accountability in Education.

• Helena Reuterswärd, Senior Policy Specialist Education, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

The webinar will be chaired by Monica Kyria (PhD), Senior Adviser, Mainstreaming anti-corruption in public services and integrating gender in anti-corruption , U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre.