It is a very long time since we have used anything from The Guardian. The reason is clear from this article.
The story we would be interested in is that of the [attached] Open Letter by mass democratic trade unions, including SADTU, mentioned half way down, below the heading that I have added (My addition is:"Open letter by trade unions and two others") The Guardian contrived to obscure the involvement of trade unions, including SADTU, referring to them as "a group of US, British and South African NGOs and teachers’ groups". The Guardian's job is to push NGOs into the foreground, and avoid as much as they can mentioning the mass democratic trade unions. After two short paragraphs they return for the remainder of this long article to the NGOs' statements. The SADTU / AFT / NUT Open Letter is attached. Viva, SADTU, Viva! _____ Guardian2.png DfID accused of heightening inequality through support for private sector The UK government is driving inequality in the world’s poorest countries by “dogmatically” funding private sector health and education projects instead of using aid money to boost public systems, a report has said. Rather than addressing the needs of the world’s poorest people, the Department for International Development’s (DfID) close relationship with the private sector is filling the pockets of big corporations, according to Profiting from poverty, again <http://globaljustice.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=e619f308edfea636481 35c3a1&id=f8a47ca13b&e=e245f2dc04> , a study published on Friday by the campaigning group Global Justice Now (GJN). Nick Dearden, director of GJN, said: “Aid should be used to support human needs by building up public services in countries that don’t have the same levels of economic privilege as the UK. So it’s shocking that DfID is dogmatically promoting private health and education when it’s been shown that this approach actually entrenches inequality and endangers access.” The report also questioned DfID’s appointment of Sir Michael Barber, a senior executive at Pearson <https://www.pearson.com/michael-barber/bio.html> , the world’s largest maker of textbooks and academic materials, as its chief advisor for education in Pakistan, saying it presented a conflict of interest. DfID oversees an ambitious £350m health and education programme <http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-202697/documents/> in Pakistan and has partnered with Pearson on a project in Tanzania and Zimbabwe <https://camfed.org/latest-news/camfed-and-pearson-Launch-Partnership/> . “It seems highly inappropriate that executives from a company like Pearson can be acting in an official capacity at DfID, while their company provides commercial services that would directly benefit from the type of decisions being taken by DfID,” Dearden said. A DfID spokesman said: “We have firm policies in place to prevent any conflict of interest in our work.” Pearson, which operates in more than 70 countries, launched its affordable learning programme <https://www.affordable-learning.com/> in 2012. The initiative is a for-profit venture fund that uses capital investment “to help millions of children in the world access a quality education in a cost effective, profitable and scalable manner”, according to the company. A spokeswoman for Pearson said: “As the Global Justice Now report makes clear, there is ‘an explicit agreement with DfID to ensure that Michael Barber’s role does not advantage Pearson’. Pearson’s affordable learning fund has no investments in Pakistan <http://www.theguardian.com/world/pakistan> .” In a letter to the UK cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood <http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/our-letter-cabinet-secretary-sir-jeremy-hey wood> , Dearden said: “It remains the case that Pearson does benefit from DfID contracts in the more general area on which Sir Michael works, namely promoting an increasing role for private education providers across the world.” Open letter by trade unions (and two others) On Friday, a group of US, British and South African NGOs and teachers’ groups issued an open letter to John Fallon, Pearson <http://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/ltr_pearson_042315.pdf> ’s CEO. The letter read: “By supporting the expansion of low-fee private schooling and other competitive practices, Pearson is essentially ensuring that a large number of the world’s most vulnerable children have no hope of receiving a free, quality education.” The open letter [attached] was released on Friday to coincide with the company’s annual general meeting. It was signed by the American Federation of Teachers <http://www.aft.org/> , the UK <http://www.teachers.org.uk/node> ’s National Union of Teachers, the South African Democratic Teachers <http://www.cedol.org/partner/south_african_democratic_teachers_union/> ’ Union, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers <https://www.atl.org.uk/> , Action Aid UK <http://www.actionaid.org.uk/> and the National Education Association <http://www.nea.org/> . The UK has invested more heavily in private sector projects than other rich countries, drawing criticism from the Independent Commission for Aid Impact <http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/may/15/uk-watchdog-aid-p rivate-sector-development> (Icai). “DfID often seems to behave more like a hedge fund [than an aid agency], investing capital alongside banking partners like JP Morgan,” GJN said. DfID is working with companies including Coca-Cola, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Adam Smith International and is promoting the role of private sector partners in its biggest health and education projects, according to GJN. The GJN report said DfID’s efforts to promote low-cost private schools in poor countries are “misplaced and dangerous”. The Girls <https://www.gov.uk/girls-education-challenge> ’ Education Challenge, a £355m DfID programme designed to get more girls in school, is managed by PwC and includes a partnership with Coca-Cola in Nigeria. In Kenya, DfID has partnered with Adam Smith International in a £25m project <http://www.adamsmithinternational.com/case-study/kenya-essential-education- programme-keep/> that seeks to get 5,000 Kenyans enrolled in low-cost private schools. DfID has also channelled millions of pounds into the harnessing non-state actors for better health for the poor <https://www.gov.uk/harnessing-non-state-actors-for-better-health-for-the-po or-hanshep> (Hanshep) scheme, which promotes private sector investment in the health sectors of poor countries. Kishore Singh, the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to education, is among those who have expressed reservations <http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/apr/23/education-is-a-ba sic-human-right-why-private-schools-must-be-resisted> about private education. “I see [the growth of private education] not as progress, but as an indictment of governments that have failed to meet their obligation to provide universal, free and high-quality education for all,” said Singh. A DfID spokesman said: “The UK strives to get the best possible outcomes for poor people and takes a pragmatic stance on how services should be delivered. In some circumstances (parts of India, Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan, for example), this includes developing partnerships with low-fee private schools. “DfID works with the private sector in situations where the public sector is not sufficiently present (the slums of Nairobi for example) or where state provision is so weak that the private sector has stepped in to fill the gap. Recognising that fees are still a major barrier to access for the poor, DfID’s support includes voucher schemes that subsidise access to low-fee private schools for the poorest.” From: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/apr/24/dfid-private-secto r-support-inequality-global-justice-now-report -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. 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Letter to Pearsons 042315.pdf
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