Education Financing: Ensuring Full Inclusion and the Human Right to Quality, Universal Education

• In Event: Reclaiming public education: The movement to defend a sustainable, just and human future for all

Proposal

The pursuit of quality, universal education as a fundamental human right is hindered by barriers including inadequate funding, discriminatory practices, and social inequalities. This abstract explores the critical topic of education financing and its pivotal role in promoting inclusive, quality education accessible to all learners. Anchored in the belief that education is a powerful catalyst for individual and societal transformation, this highlights the importance of advocacy and campaigning methods, recommended policies, and strategies to achieve equitable access to education.

The presentation aligns with the CIES 2024 theme of "The Power of Protest" by advocating for the human right to universal, inclusive, quality public education. It emphasizes the significance of joint protest and collaboration, incorporating tools like the Abidjan Principles, which outline human rights obligations of States to provide public education and regulate private involvement in education.

Private actors' profit-driven approach to the education sector necessitates the state's responsibility to ensure free, quality public education for all. Collaboratively, GCE-US and its partners have successfully advocated for increased government funding for public and global education, addressing challenges like inclusive early childhood education, vulnerable children's education barriers, and strengthening public education systems during emergencies and crises. The abstract emphasizes that education should not be viewed as a commodity or profit-making mechanism. Instead, the focus should be on education's positive potential to transform lives and foster a sustainable, just, and people-centered society. The commitment to education can lay the foundation for a more inclusive world.

The strategies employed by GCE-US and its partners involve convening stakeholders across education and human rights ecosystems to shift narratives, addressing evidence-lacking arguments against public education funding, and achieving crucial milestones, including the International Finance Corporation's decision to stop investing in fee-charging private schools and the Global Partnership for Education's adoption of policies aligned with the Abidjan Principles.

In solidarity with advocates worldwide, GCE-US coalition members are actively protesting and organizing in response to attempts to ban books and erase black histories from school curricula in Florida. Additionally, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education sector in developing countries including Pakistan has highlighted the urgency of strengthening public education through targeted efforts in bridging the digital divide, promoting inclusive learning, investing in teacher training, and enhancing infrastructure.

To achieve the collective mission of ensuring access to quality education for every individual, the abstract proposes six essential approaches to strengthening the public education system. These include developing funding models that prioritize marginalized communities and learners with disabilities; investing in teacher training and adopting accessible curricula; ensuring free technology for greater access to educational resources; providing financial aid and scholarships to marginalized learners while strengthening universal education; fostering successful partnerships between governments, international organizations and NGOs to build public education systems; and implementing transparent monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for education financing efforts.

By implementing these strategies and focusing on strengthening public education systems, we can build a resilient and equitable education system that empowers learners and fosters inclusivity, thereby realizing the vision of universal, inclusive, quality education for all.

Authors

• Jennifer Rigg, Global Campaign for Education-US

• Maha Shoaib, International Education Policy Department, University of Maryland, College Park