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Uganda Cracks Down on For-Profit Private Schools Run by Westerners

By dianeravitch
May 20, 2018 //
22

 

In the past few years, a group of Western investors have introduced low-cost for-profit private schools into African nations. Their company is called Bridge International Academies. It is a “tech startup” developed by entrepreneurs who hoped to do well by doing good. Veteran journalist Peg Tyre wrote a balanced yet implicitly scathing article about BIA in the New York Times Magazine. Some of the investors are Mark Zuckerberg, Pearson, the World Bank, Bill Gates, and Pierre Omidyar. The schools seek to replace the public schools, which are free but usually underfunded and poorly equipped. Bridge teachers teach from tablets loaded with scripted curriculum (apparently written in Boston by charter school teachers who understand how to write scripted curricula). It claims to get better results than the public schools, but at a higher price. Even though these schools are “low cost,” most families in poor nations can not afford to pay. It is operating schools in Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria, and a few in India.

Are they philanthropic saviors of African children or neocolonialists?

The government of Uganda is aggressively pushing back against the Bridge schools. 

Janet K. Museveni is First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports. She explains in the linked article that the 63 Bridge schools operating in Uganda are unlicensed and do not meet the standards required to operate.

The Bridge tactic of organizing pupils to march on behalf of the school corporation will sound familiar to Americans.

She writes:

“The media has been awash with news about the intransigent manner in which Management of the Bridge International Academies (BIA) which were recently renamed Bridge Schools are acting when faced with closure by the Ministry of Education and Sports for lack of licenses to operate in Uganda.

“It must be puzzling to the public particularly when all they see, as a result of the aggressive media campaign by Bridge operators, are pictures of children that look fairly “organised” as they match on streets and demonstrate at Parliament to protect the interests of the proprietors – at the risk of simply being used as pawns in a game they hardly comprehend.”

She goes on to describe the requirements of the law and the power of the Ugandan government to set standards. She describes the efforts made by the Government to regulate and inspect Bridge schools. These were the findings of the investigation.

 

“Key findings of the multi-disciplinary team that were brought to the attention of the Bridge team during this meeting are summarised hereunder:

“Issue #1: – Curriculum

“Early childhood Development (ECD):

“Children are kept for long hours at school without any designated resting places; did not use the approved ECD Learning Framework and the Caregivers’ Guide; administered written examinations which are against Government Policy.

“Lower Primary:

“The preparation, language of instruction and pedagogy were not in line with the approved curriculum.

“Upper Primary

“Curriculum Content, Schemes of Work, Lesson Plans, Textbooks, Schools and Class timetables did not conform to the approved Ugandan curriculum which they purport to implement. Many teachers were not free to adjust what they received on the tablets to teach from a central source and appeared to live in fear; claiming to be underpaid and lacking a forum for airing their grievances. Most of the Head Teachers, referred to as “Academy Managers” were not professionally trained and could not provide instructional leadership.

“Issue #2: – Teacher Qualification/Competence

“There were no clear documents on teachers’ qualifications in the Managers’ (Head Teachers’) Office; most teachers had no contracts; and about a half had no authentic Teacher Registration numbers.

“Notwithstanding the well-known benefits of introducing technology into the delivery process, teachers should have the freedom to adapt their classroom schemes of work, lesson plans, assessment and remedial activities to the practicalities of the specific teaching-learning context rather than be enslaved to the restrictions of centrally prepared and delivered lessons.

“Issue #3: – Bridge Schools Infrastructure

“All the facilities were temporary with School structures made of roofing sheet material (both walls and roof) and wire mesh, which are unsuitable for students during very hot weather conditions. The structures have no windows and battened wooden doors were used without proper framing. Sound-proofing between Classrooms is inadequate. There is no protection against lightening on any of the structures. Sanitation facilities are shared amongst students (boys and girls) and teachers. The facilities were not fit to be a school.

“Based on the findings/observations outlined above, specific and general recommendations were made on curriculum, teachers and facilities to enable them meet the basic requirements and minimum standards.”

She and the Government of zuganda are serious about regulating Bridge schools.

“I should, however, add that the impunity being exhibited by Bridge Management, and its likes, will not be tolerated and that Government will spare no effort to use all legal means to enforce the requirements of the Law to protect our children and our future, as a country.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, For-Profit, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, International, Pearson

Testing Expert: Be Wary of Misinterpreting International Assessments

By dianeravitch
May 9, 2018 //
15

 

Assessment experts Judith Singer and Henry Braun wrote an article for Science warning about the risks of misusing the results of international tests. The article is behind a paywall, and I don’t have a subscription. Singer was interviewed by a writer for The 74, and she expressed her concerns. The bottom line is that the rankings distort more than they reveal.

“The rankings that are commonly used to report the results of [international tests] draw headlines, but they are often incredibly misleading,” she told The 74. “The countries aren’t sports teams to be ranked as winners and losers.” Indeed, she observed, the British press uses the same term to describe the hierarchy of international testing performance — “league tables” — as for soccer and rugby standings.”…

“Worse than the alarmism accompanying news stories, Singer says the rankings themselves are frequently arbitrary and mercurial. Positions change from year to year for reasons having little or nothing to do with student performance in a given country. And the rules of the tests allow for a certain amount of gamesmanship, as when Shanghai earned a top ranking for math in the 2012 PISA exam — only for the world to later discover that it had excluded 27 percent of its 15-year-olds from taking it.

”On the 2015 PISA, Japan improved on its fourth-place ranking for scientific literacy three years earlier, moving to second overall. But the jump wasn’t because of improved performance; scores actually went down, though not as much as other countries’.

“In a Japanese news item on the results, a graph shows scores and rankings over time. A line representing the country’s science ranking ascends from 2012 to 2015 — even though actual scores dropped by nine points.

“Deep-seated national differences also tend to skew our perceptions of who’s up and who’s down. It doesn’t really make sense, Singer remarked, to group countries with decentralized education sectors — like the United States, Canada, and Germany — alongside those with properly national school systems, such as France, that can mandate instructional and curricular choices at will across their entire student populations…

““Singapore has fewer schools than Massachusetts has school districts,” Singer said. “So when you look at the results of Singapore — which is a city-state, though it’s treated as a country — you’re talking about a very small jurisdiction. There are undoubtedly school districts in Massachusetts that far exceed the performance of Singapore.”

“Drawing apples-to-apples comparisons among disparate countries with wildly varying educational approaches leads to false narratives about what produces success, with low-performers looking to emulate the “special sauce” driving high achievement — whether it’s special curricula, smaller class sizes, or something else — in high-flying countries like Finland or Korea.”

“Rather than spending millions trying to ape the tactics of international competitors, Singer says that countries should use testing data to learn more about themselves.“

 

Categories Education Reform, International, Testing

International Protest Against Pearson

By dianeravitch
May 3, 2018 //
4

Tomorrow.

 

Teachers from across the globe tell Pearson investors:

Stop the exploitation of vulnerable kids!

International protest and actions planned at annual shareholders meeting

For Immediate Release

What: Teachers from around the globe, education unions and members of parliament from Kenya will be protesting both outside and inside the Annual General Meeting of Pearson to urge investors to stop funding Bridge International Academies.

When/Where: Friday, May 4th Press conference and protest at 11 AM. The shareholders meeting starts at 12PM at which point the protest will continue inside the meeting. IET London, 2 Savoy Place, London WC2R

Who: Wilson Sossion, General Secretary, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary, National Education Union (UK), Angelo Gavrielatos, Project Director, Education International (EI) will all be available for interviews.

Contact: Angelo Gavrielatos at +61488012045

Why: Pearson is a huge edu-business which invests in the US owned corporation called Bridge International Academies. This for-profit corporation is making money off the education dreams and aspirations of poor families in Africa and Asia. We want Pearson shareholders to be aware of this hurtful investment and to stop supporting a company that seeks to profit from vulnerable kids.

***

London, May 2, 2018 – Education activists, teachers and union leaders representing 32 million educators worldwide will come to London to urge shareholders at the Pearson Annual General Meeting to stop funding Bridge International Academies, a for-profit company that makes money by shortchanging the education of thousands of at risk children.

Bridge is one of the largest education for-profit companies in the world, with plans to sell basic education services directly to 10 million fee-paying students throughout Africa and Asia by 2025. Bridge’s business plan is predicated on the employment of unqualified staff delivering a highly scripted, standardised curriculum in substandard facilities.

Despite their slick marketing, the company uses cost-cutting techniques aimed at minimising operational costs in order to maximise profit. In both Uganda and Kenya, Bridge schools have been ordered to shut because of the company’s neglect and disregard for national legal and educational requirements.

In announcing the closure of these schools, authorities in Kenya and Uganda have cited the company’s failure to seek registration to operate, failure to employ qualified teachers, failure to conform to national curriculum requirements and use of unsafe facilities. Bridge has retaliated by taking legal action against its critics in an attempt to silence them.

Wilson Sossion, General Secretary, Kenya National Union of Teachers, who is being sued by Bridge, will travel all the way to London to denounce the corporation’s practices in his own country.

“Learners are precious human beings destined to enjoy rich and fulfilling lives and help build decent and strong societies. They should never be seen or treated as remote, unknown pieces of education business supply chains,” said Wilson Sossion.

“By supporting Bridge, Pearson is actively undermining the attainment of free quality education for all, and going against its own motto of education as a “never-ending road of discovery, challenge, inspiration, and wonder,”’ said Angelo Gavrielatos, Project Director at Education International.

“Pearson goes to great lengths to talk about how central teachers are to the achievement of quality education for all yet, it supports these for-profit chains who use unqualified staff delivering scripted lessons in a robotic structure. Adding insult to injury, poor families must pay ever increasing fees to sustain a business that shortchanges their education dreams,” he added.

“Every child has the right to a free, high quality education, with trained teachers and a safe learning environment. Bridge exploits this right for profit, and in the process delivers a sub-standard education that deepens inequality in the communities it “serves”. Pearson’s investment in this exploitative business model is wholly indefensible,” stated Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union (NEU).

***

Education International is the global teacher trade union federation representing more than 32 million educators in 172 countries.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers is the largest teachers’ trade union in Kenya.

The National Education Union is the largest teachers’ union in the UK, established in 2017 after the amalgamation of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL). Both unions have a history of opposing the privatisation of education both nationally and internationally.

Angelo Gavrielatos​
Project Director
Email: Angelo.Gavrielatos@ei-ie.org
Tel: +32 2 224 06 11
Fax: +32 2 224 06 06
5 bd du Roi Albert II | 1210 Brussels | BELGIUM
http://www.ei-ie.org

​

Categories International, Pearson

Tom Loveless: Billions Have Been Spent on Standards Based Reforms: Was It Worth It?

By dianeravitch
April 12, 2018 //
25

 

Tom Loveless taught fifth grade in California, then earned a doctorate in educational policy, taught at Harvard, then landed at Brookings where he wrote reports on the condition of American education and analyzed international assessments. He recently retired from Brookings but continues to write.

He is one of the few original thinkers in the education think tank world. Neither the right nor left claims him. He is a straight shooter and brings a fresh perspective. He was one of the first to knock down the Great Shanghai Myth by pointing out that the student population of that city is not typical of China. Meanwhile the media and Arne Duncan ranted and raved about the superiority of Shanghai, as proven by its ranking on the international tests, which Loveless debunked.

I recently learned that Loveless had written a new paper evaluating the value of standards-based reform, the approach that is central to No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and the Every Student Succeeds Act.  

He presented his findings at a conference sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative D.C. think tank.

It is, as I expected, original and important.

Unless there is breaking news today, this will be the only post.

Please read the paper and feel free to comment.

Categories Accountability, Common Core, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), International, NAEP, NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Testing

The Absurdity of Expecting All Students to Reach NAEP Proficiency

By dianeravitch
March 28, 2018 //
21

 

James Harvey here explores “the problem with proficiency.”

Common Core tests arbitrarily decided that the NAEP proficiency level should be the “passing” mark for all. Test results are routinely reported as if those who did not meet this standard were “failing.”

I have routinely argued on this blog that NAEP proficiency is equivalent to earning an A, and that it was nuts to expect all students to earn an A. Only in one state (Massachusetts) have as many as 50% reached the standard.

Harvey demonstrates the reality.

He writes:

“In 1996, the International Education Assessment (IEA) released one of the earliest examinations of how well 4th grade students all over the world could read. IEA is a highly credible international institution that monitors comparative school performance; it also administers the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a global assessment of 4th and 8th grade mathematics and science achievement. Its 1996 assessment (The IEA Reading Literacy Study, a predecessor to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, or PIRLS) demonstrated that out of 27 participating nations, U.S. 4th graders ranked number two in reading (National Center for Education Statistics, 1996). Only Finland ranked higher. To the extent these rankings mean very much, this second-place finish for the United States was an impressive accomplishment.

”But around the same time, the National Assessment Governing Board of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reported that just one-third of American 4th graders were “proficient” in reading. To this day, the board of NAEP continues to release similarly bleak findings about American 4th graders’ reading performance (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). And IEA continues to release global findings indicating that the performance of U.S. 4th graders in reading remains world class (Mullis et al., 2012).

“How could both these findings be accurate? Was it true, as NAEP results indicated, that U.S. 4th graders couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time? Or was IEA’s conclusion—that the performance of American 4th graders in an international context was first class—more valid? A broader question arises here, one that has intrigued researchers for years: How would other nations perform if their students were held to the NAEP achievement-level benchmark for “proficient”? How might they perform on Common Core-aligned assess-ments with benchmarks that reflect those of NAEP?

”How Would Other Nations Score on NAEP?

“In 2015, statistician Emre Gönülates and I set out to explore these questions on behalf of the National Superintendents Roundtable (of which I am executive director) and the Horace Mann League (on whose board I serve). The results of our examination, recently released in a report titled How High the Bar? (Harvey & Gönülates, 2017), are eye-opening. In short, the vast majority of students in the vast majority of nations would not clear the NAEP bar for proficiency in reading, mathematics, or science. And the same is true of the “career and college-readiness” benchmarks in mathematics and English language arts that are used by the major Common Core-aligned assessments.

“This finding matters because in recent years, communities all over the United States have seen bleak headlines about the performance of their students and schools. Many of these headlines rely on reports about student achievement from NAEP or the Common Core assessments. One particular concern is that only a minority of students in the United States meet the NAEP Proficient benchmark. Frequently, arguments in favor of maintaining this particular benchmark as the desired goal for American students and education institutions are couched in terms of establishing demanding standards so the United States becomes more competitive internationally.

“But the reality is that communities around the world would face identical bleak headlines if their students sat down to take the NAEP assessments. So, when U.S. citizens read that “only one-third” or “less than half” of the students in their local schools are proficient in mathematics, science, or reading (or other subjects), they can rest assured that the same judgments could be applied to national education systems throughout the world if students in those nations participated in NAEP or Common Core-related assessments. (This is true despite the widespread perception that average student performance in some other nations exceeds average student performance in the United States. The metric applied in our study is not a rank ordering of mean scores by nation but the percentage of students in each nation likely to exceed the NAEP Proficient benchmark.)

“Our findings may not even be surprising when we consider questions that have arisen from previous research on NAEP.”

Harvey goes on to explain why it is absurd to use NAEP proficiency as a passing mark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories Common Core, International, NAEP, Testing

The New Yorker: China Is Developing a Social Credit Rating for All Its Citizens.

By dianeravitch
March 21, 2018 //
16

 

Jiayang Fan, a staff writer at the New Yorker, describes China’s plan to develop a social credit rating for every one of its citizens.

When she was a child in school in China, children earned red stars for behavior and accomplishment, which were publicly displayed. Now the State proposes a similar though far more complex rating system. The State

”aims to compile a comprehensive national database out of citizens’ fiscal, government, and possibly personal information. First publicized, last year, in a planning document published by the State Council, S.C.S. was billed as “an important component part of the Socialist market-economy system,” underwriting a “harmonious Socialist society.” Its intended goals are “establishing the idea of a sincerity culture, and carrying forward sincerity and traditional virtues,” and its primary objectives are to raise “the honest mentality and credit levels of the entire society” as well as “the over-all competitiveness of the country,” and “stimulating the development of society and the progress of civilization….

“According to the planning document, S.C.S. will be used “to encourage keeping trust and punish breaking trust.” Doctors, teachers, construction firms, scientists, sports figures, N.G.O.s, members of the judicial system, and government administrators will face special scrutiny. It is conceivable that the data generated through smartphones, apps, and online transactions will be marshalled in the service of this overarching and uncomfortably broad aim. More unsettlingly, the algorithm used to calculate the score of an individual or organization might be withheld by the government from the individual herself….

“The opacity of its infrastructure is disquieting. What safeguards will be put in place to prevent the database from being rigged? Will the very corruption that the social-credit system is meant to counter infect the system itself? Who will oversee the overseers of the operation? How will privacy, long under siege in contemporary China, be protected? And will punishment for political discontent be delivered through dismal credit scores? If S.C.S. becomes a mechanism of financial and social integration, it is hard to imagine how it could avoid becoming an instrument of mass surveillance.”

 

Categories Accountability, International, Privacy and Privacy Rights

How to Buy a Gun in 15 Countries

By dianeravitch
March 3, 2018 //
34

 

The United States has minimal requirements for buying a gun. Although some cities restrict gun ownership, guns are readily available in most states and at gun shows and on the Internet. A purchaser might buy a gun in less than an hour.

Other countries have established high barriers to gun ownership. It is possible to buy a gun but not easy.

Japan

1. Join a hunting or shooting club.

2. Take a firearm class and pass a written exam, which is held up to three times a year.

3. Get a doctor’s note saying you are mentally fit and do not have a history of drug abuse.

4. Apply for a permit to take firing training, which may take up to a month.

5. Describe in a police interview why you need a gun.

6. Pass a review of your criminal history, gun possession record, employment, involvement with organized crime groups, personal debt and relationships with friends, family and neighbors.

7. Apply for a gunpowder permit.

8. Take a one-day training class and pass a firing test.

9. Obtain a certificate from a gun dealer describing the gun you want.

10. Buy a gun safe and an ammunition locker that meet safety regulations.

11. Allow the police to inspect your gun storage.

12. Pass an additional background review.

13. Buy a gun.

Japan has the lowest rate of gun homicides in the world.

Australia

After the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996, where a man methodically killed 35 random people and injured many more at a popular tourist site, Australia made it more difficult to get a gun. Gun ownership is a privilege, not a right.

1. Join and regularly attend a hunting or shooting club, or document that you’re a collector.

2. Complete a course on firearm safety and operation, and pass a written test and practical assessment.

3. Arrange firearm storage that meets safety regulations.

4. Pass a review that considers criminal history, domestic violence, restraining orders and arrest history. Authorities may also interview your family and community members.

5. Apply for a permit to acquire a specific type of weapon.

6. Wait at least 28 days.

7. Buy the specific type of gun you received a permit for.

The article in the New York Times describes the gun laws in 13 other countries.

Those who mistakenly claim that the Second Amendment protects their unlimited right to buy any kind of gun ignore the fact that Congress banned assault weapons from 1994-2004. Before the ban was passed, it was endorsed by former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter.

Categories Guns, International

Australia Has Not Had a Mass Murder Since 1996: Will We Learn from Their Example?

By dianeravitch
February 19, 2018 //
36

 

In 1996, Australia experienced a horrendous mass murder known as the Port Arthur Massacre. A man named Martin Bryant went to a popular tourist site and methodically murdered 35 people, including a few that he murdered on his way to Port Arthur and after his departure. Among his victims was a young mother and her two daughters, ages 6 and 3.

This event shocked the nation, which proceeded to enact strict laws about access to guns, registration of guns, and restrictions on private ownership of semi-automatic guns. In addition,  the government initiated a massive gun buy-back program.

There has not been a mass murder in Australia since 1996 and the national adoption of meaningful gun controls.

In the U.S., there are a significant number of people who love their guns more than human life.

Will the latest school massacre in Florida turn Americans against the National Rifle Association and its adherents in Congress and state legislatures? Will it be the equivalent of the Port Arthur Massacre?

The New York Times explains the obstacles to any significant change in gun laws in Florida, which is one of the most gun-friendly states in the nation.

“In the wake of Florida’s latest shooting massacre, and calls to tighten its relaxed gun laws, Gov. Rick Scott declared that now, everything was on the table.

“Yet the governor sidestepped whether he would explicitly support new gun restrictions. And he emphasized he would never “trample” on anyone’s constitutional rights.”

Scott is the keynote speaker at the NRA annual convention in Dallas, May 3-6.

“Florida’s gun lobby continues to instill fear in lawmakers. It is led by Marion Hammer, 78, who grew up shooting rabbits, reportedly packs a pistol in her purse and seeks political vengeance on legislators who disappoint her.

“Though Florida is a purple state, Mr. Scott, a favorite of gun lobbyists, and other Republicans control state government, and they have steadfastly opposed new restrictions. For gun-control advocates, victories of late have included steps like defeating legislation to allow some people to carry guns into airport terminals.
Gun owners are now a major constituency, too: Nearly two million residents have permits to carry concealed weapons, far more than any other state…

”Florida’s pro-gun approach came under scrutiny after mass shootings in Orlando in 2016 and in Fort Lauderdale last year. But, little changed in the Statehouse; bills to limit assault weapons, for example, did not get a hearing.
Even after the massacre in Parkland last week, the only movement on gun bills dealt with proposals to expand where guns could be carried, not to restrict them.

”State Senator Dennis Baxley, a Republican who wrote the Stand Your Ground law in 2005 and is a major gun-rights backer, doubts gun-control proposals will gain traction.”

“I don’t see any interest here on that,” said Mr. Baxley, who represents parts of Sumter, Marion and Lake Counties. “We’re pretty comfortable that freedom works.”

”Mr. Baxley likens gun restrictions to imposing limits on forks and spoons to reduce obesity. He argued the focus needs to be on school safety…

”Changing Florida’s gun laws could come down to two things: Whether Ms. Hammer can keep legislators from breaking ranks. And, the ambitions of Mr. Scott, who is increasingly expected to challenge Bill Nelson, the state’s incumbent Democratic senator this year.

”Ms. Hammer, who stands barely 5 feet tall, has been the state’s chief gun lobbyist for decades and was the first woman to serve as national N.R.A. president. The state’s Stand Your Ground and concealed-carry laws were largely her initiatives.

”Legislators, especially Republicans, fear her ability to marshal angry emails from thousands of gun owners in every pocket of the state, destroying ambitions of even onetime allies.

“She can be pretty hard on people who aren’t coming around,” Mr. Baxley said. “She has a long memory when you cross her.”

Will members of the legislature listen to Ms. Hammer and the NRA, or will they listen to the teenagers of the state?

Ms. Hammer, the NRA, AND Governor Scott have blood on their hands. The blood of victims of the Pulse nightclub and the blood of students and staff at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. How many more children and adults will die until they open their eyes and hearts?

 

 

Categories Florida, Guns in Schools, International

GREAT NEWS: New Zealand is Scrapping National Standards and Charter Schools

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2018 //
155

 

 

Hurrah for New Zealand!

The Minister of Education in New Zealand, Chris Hipkins, announced that the government is putting an end to national standards and charter schools. 

“Both National Standards and charter schools were driven by ideology rather than evidence. Both were rejected by the vast majority of the education sector. The Government’s strong view is that there is no place for them in the New Zealand education system.”

The bill includes provision for existing charter schools to operate under their contracts while the Ministry discusses possible options, including in the state system, on a case-by-case basis.

“My preferred option is to explore early termination of contracts by mutual agreement.”

My hunch is that New Zealand has a strong tradition of good public schools and common sense. Also, the financial industry and tech sector did not spread campaign contributions to elected officials.

 

 

 

Categories Charter Schools, Common Core, Education Industry, International, Privatization

Odd Couple: A New Nonprofit is Partnering with For-Profit to Raise Money, Which May Not Be Legal

By dianeravitch
February 8, 2018 //
15

 

A new organization called the Global Fund for Emerging Scholars has formed a partnership with Bridge International Academies, a for-profit Group funded by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Pearson, the World Bank, etc. BIA has opened schools in several African nations and is highly controversial because it operates for-profit and takes on the role of the government. They get higher scores than public schools but they only want fee-paying students, and the cost is very much higher. The Global Fund will raise money to fund the for profit BIA.

One wonders why BIA operates for profit when it is backed by billionaires. Why don’t they just open free schools on poor countries?

One also wonders if it is legal for a non-profit to raise money for a for-profit?

The Global Fund for Emerging Scholars is seeking an official nonprofit status from the IRS.

But nowhere on its website does it say who is behind it. Who is on the Board? Who are the Founders? Is it BIA?

The Global Fund says they’ve filed for 501c3 status but if they get it, it might be in direction violation of the law.

The IRS could not be more clear about this: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/inurement-private-benefit-charitable-organizations

 

 

Categories For-Profit, International
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