Global Privatization of Education

Greedy Banker, by HalcyonSnow

Canada has been going through its own school accountability orgy since 2003, which has led to increasing privatization of their educational services. One of the big players in Canada’s school deform movement, Michael Fullan, Special Advisor for the Premier on education, also runs Michael Fullan Enterprises Inc. and Leadership4Change, while holding a position on the board of Microsoft’s “Partners in Learning.” (See Daily Censored: The Global Privatization of Education, 11/06/09)

During the Blair administration, Fullan helped to push an accountability and privatization agenda on British schools. English parents, like Americans, have been bombarded with exaggerated stories about their failing schools, creating panic and mistrust of public education. Arne Duncan was recently there to help shore up attempts to dismantle their public education. (See A covert war on schools, on Susan Ohanian’s website).

from the European Student Union website

Another key player in Canada’s privatization movement, Lorna Earl, a Director at the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) and the Ministry of Education’s Researcher in Residence, was recently charged with conflict of interest for her concurrent role as co-owner of Aporia Consulting. (EQAO oversees testing, while Aporia was hired by school boards to help them improve test scores). Earl has also served on the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI), which seeks to expand global markets for education profiteers like Aporia by influencing local policy makers.

London Univ. Protest, 11/10, Photo: Andreas Charalambide

At the university level, European nations have been cutting teaching positions, raising tuition, and implementing an “American” style privatization of their public schools. There was a massive protest by university students in Britain this week, attended by students from Ukraine, Georgia, Spain, Holland and Belgium. There have also been recent student protests in Brussels and continuing strikes by workers and students in France.