How can we change demand into action at the local level?
Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) has been tracking education budget at the district level over the last three years. The tracking exercise entailed a series of district level consultations with local stakeholders that included legislators, major political parties, school administrators and local governments on education budgets to ensure equitable and inclusive access to quality education. Through these consultations it came to light that there is a communication and coordination gap between the School Management, community members and the district administration.
UN committee expresses concern over privatization of education and its implications in Pakistan
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ('the Committee') expressed its concerns on the issue of privatization of education in Pakistan as the state underwent its first ever review earlier this month. The review focused on the status of implementation of the rights guaranteed under the 14 substantive articles of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966, 'the Covenant').
Reflection on the comparative trends of privatization and regulation challenges in Asia
For the last two years, September is the time when human rights campaigners have been convening as a global consortium to synergize their efforts to counter the privatization of education in their respective regions. This time, the campaigners headed to Kathmandu where these meetings enabled stakeholders from varied backgrounds working on issues with regards to right to education to raise sizeable concerns around the global growth of private actors in education provision. This event also aided to strengthen the coordination of joint global efforts to respond to these developments in an effective manner.
Public Private Partnerships in Education should not promote outright privatization
Celebrating ASPBAE 50th birthday at the Festival of Learning (FOL) in Yogyakarta November 18-21, 2014 , I acknowledge ASPBAE in providing an opportunity to more than 130 participants representing coalitions, civil society organizations, researchers and like-minded activist from around 35 countries to share experiences, learning's and provide technical inputs to enrich the work of others in the education sector. The festival also adds to the growing knowledge on issues that require continuous research and attention. There is certainly much to celebrate as ASPBAE approaches its 50th year.
Strengthening civil society engagement in the Global Partnership for Education
The close collaboration of civil society and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is essential in ensuring education is a top priority on the development agenda. As civil society, we can help to bring together a wide range of voices and perspectives, mobilizing organizations and citizens and representing their views in official policy spaces - including those not usually heard in policy-making. This includes working at the national level to influence education policy development but also globally to engage with decision making at the GPE Board.
