A/70/342
133. In continuity with the report on global corruption in education by
Transparency International, UNESCO should undertake a full-scale
investigation of corruption in public-private partnerships in education and
expose any fraudulent and corrupt practices by private providers through its
Education for All Global Monitoring Report.
134. Governments should strengthen existing human rights mechanisms, such
as national human rights institutions and ombudspersons, or create special
mechanisms to regularly oversee the operations of public-private partnerships
in education, with suo motu investigatory powers to look into alleged violations
by private partners and any abusive practices.
135. The human rights treaty bodies should give special consideration in their
dialogues with States to examining their reports for linkages between public private partnerships and increased privatization, with a view to identifying any
repercussions for the right to education.
136. Parliamentarians, in particular members of education commissions or
committees, play a key role in laying down regulatory frameworks for public private partnerships in education. They should ensure that the right to
education is fully respected, protected and fulfilled in their country.
137. Public-private partnerships in education should not lead to reduced
government investment in education, but should be complementary to the
maximum resources that Governments can provide for the right to education.
138. Public sector borrowing is normally the lowest-cost way to raise money
and improving tax collection and reducing national and international tax
avoidance can do more to increase education spending than any amount of
private investment. Financial support for education can also be mobilized
through corporate social responsibility.
139. The State remains primarily responsible for fulfilling the right to
education on account of its international legal obligations. It must discharge its
responsibility as the guarantor and regulator of education as a fundamental
human right of every child.
140. Governments should exercise caution as to any advice offered by
international organizations, such as the World Bank or the International
Finance Corporation, or from private companies supported by them, to the
effect that they should relinquish their responsibility for education to private
actors. If such advice were sound, it would have been adopted by the wealthi est
nations. Instead, the top-performing education systems in the world, in Asia,
Europe and North America, are predominantly public systems.
141. States must expand public educational opportunities, recognizing the
paramount importance of investment in education as their essential obligation.
They must respond to the challenges of restoring public trust in public
education systems as regards their capacity to provide quality education.
Governments should recognize that the highest-quality education, for the
lowest cost, universally available for all, will always come from an effective
public system. Public-private partnerships may provide stopgap measures, as
States work to progressively realize education systems that fully meet all
aspects of the right to education.
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