Pearson, the all-encompassing media giant that dominates education publishing, plans to open $3-a-month private schools for children of the poor in Africa and Asia. According to Sir Michael Barber, who advises Pearson, there really is no point depending on government when private entrepreneurs can supply education at low cost far more efficiently.
I suppose the goal is to get the business up and running, then get government to foot the bill as it outsources education to Pearson.
Maybe it makes sense to have a private company providing basic education in a country that can’t or won’t, though there must certainly be some questions raised about the cultural, political, and ideological content of the education that is provided. What kind of teachers will be hired for these $3-a-month schools? Will they be teachers or computer monitors?
Is this actually the same plan that has been developed for the U.S. under a different guise?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This the very definition of “emerging markets.” And in so-called under-developed countries, the first one there makes a killing. There’s also the presumption that no one has ever tried this before. Which is bunk. I actually went to primary and secondary school in Africa, so I can actually speak with some experience. Interestingly, if you look at the leadership in African, and compare the post-colonial with the present, I think you’ll find that the guys who were successful in the 60s and 70s were actually educated on the continent. Then the 80s and 90s came along and we have things like Rwanda, the Congo, Sudan, etc. Many of those so-called leaders actually went to places like Harvard and Oxford. Coincidence?
If you (or the readers) want to get a good taste of what it was like to build a country in post-colonial Africa, get a copy of Quett Masire’s autobiography “Very Brave or Very Foolish.” He’s one of the good guys.
Shorter version: this is Pearson aiming for a rather large slice of the education market. And p.s. to Sir Michael, just because you say it doesn’t make it so.
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In our last Huntsville City Schools board meeting, during a Pearson Digital Conversion presentation (the board approved a decision to convert all the district’s textbooks to the “Pearson Supplimental Digital Learning”), the Pearson representatives claimed that “essays would be graded by computers providing instant feedback to students on their writing.”
Yes, they are talking about using computers as teachers.
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Hey, why bother to buy Pearson’s product? Microsoft word will practically do the same thing. Google Docs too, and that’s free. Just type type type, and the computer will underline your mistakes. Volia! We is all super literate.
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Excellent point, el. I was thinking the same thing. (Sorry about the double post.)
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At our last Huntsville City Schools BOE meeting, the board voted to purchase the Pearson Supplemental Digital Learning system that would allow for students’ essays to be “graded by Pearson’s computers anytime day or night,” providing “instant feedback to students on their writing.”
So, yes. Pearson is planning to use computers in the place of teachers. Of course this is Alabama and not Africa or Asia.
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White Man’s Burden, anyone? It’s an old story — loot the developing world.
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“Pearson will invest an initial $15 million into the Fund, which will invest in private companies committed to innovative approaches,sustainable business models and improving learning outcomes, as well as its own projects. It will provide investment in
private enterprise to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The Fund’s launch underlines Pearson’s commitment to experimentation to tackle access to and effectiveness of education where it is now absent.”
From the press release. The word ‘experimentation’ caught my eye. This is clearly not a charitable project.
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