Education International Research
Most respondents to EI’s survey suggested that little or no meaningful efforts have been made to remove cost-related barriers to education since 2015, and some attest that the financial burden on parents is growing heavier. For instance, evidence from NASUWT surveys of parents in the UK indicates that families are facing increasing pressure to provide essential materials such as pens, pencils and even paper. In 2017, 86% of parents responding to the survey reported that they had to buy pens and pencils for their child; 21% said that they had to provide paper; and 18% said that their child’s school required them to purchase IT equipment such as a laptop or tablet.
Inadequate funding is the main obstacle to inclusive, equitable and high-quality primary and secondary education Inadequate funding was the most commonly identified top obstacle to achieving quality, equitable and inclusive education for all at the primary and secondary level. Teacher shortages and inadequate teacher working conditions were also viewed as key obstacles (these issues will be discussed further in Chapter 8). Notably, more respondent unions saw privatisation as a key obstacle in primary education than in secondary education. Poor public funding for education has myriad consequences that make learning environments unconducive to quality teaching and learning. For example, in Côte d’Ivoire, SNEPPCI46 point out that there are insufficient educational and didactic materials in primary schools, and classes are described as “overflowing”. In Spain, unions reveal that there are still some schools containing asbestos, endangering children and young people’s health as well as that of teachers and education support personnel. Poor funding leads to numerous other challenges to quality such as poor teacher working conditions and training, high pupil-teacher ratios, and a lack of support personnel for students with special needs.
37,50 46,15
Privatisation in/ of education
25,00 34,62
Poor/narrow curriculum
66,67 69,23
Inadequate teacher working conditions
66,67 61,54
Shortage of qualified teachers
83,33 80,77
Inadequate funding and resourcing GRO.EI-IE
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Secondary Education
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Primary Education
Figure 2: What are the top obstacles to the achievement of SDG 4 in your country? (Primary and secondary education)
Expanding privatisation threatens the right to education 0302 NOITA CUDE
Since 2015, the privatisation and commercialisation in and of education has continued to increase; privatisation in education policy around the world now constitutes one of the greatest threats to free basic public education for all. Of the respondents to EI’s 2018 Status of Teachers survey, 91% said that education privatisation in their country was expanding to some or a great extent, with 71% of unions in Africa stating that it was expanding to a great extent. Even in Denmark, a country known for its strong public sector, educators report that students are increasingly attending private schools 46 Syndicat National de l’enseignement primaire Public de Côte d’Ivoire
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