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milestogo

(16,829 posts)
Wed Aug 17, 2016, 09:47 PM Aug 2016

Uganda is closing schools backed by US, World Bank, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg

Uganda’s education minister just announced that the government is closing a controversial chain of for-profit nursery and primary schools because, she said, national standards were being ignored and the “life and safety” of some 12,000 children were endangered because of poor hygiene and sanitation.

Janet K. Museveni, Uganda’s minister of education and sports (and wife of Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni), made the formal announcement to parliament Tuesday, saying the schools will be closed at the end of the school term and will stay closed “until the ministry is satisfied that they have put in place what is required to operate a school as per ministry’s guidelines,” according to a transcript of her remarks.

Being closed are schools at 63 sites operated by the Bridge International Academies (BIA) network, which has support from the World Bank; by Pearson, the world’s largest for-profit education company; and by billionaires Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Pierre Omidyar, among others. The U.S. government has supported the Bridge International Academies with millions of dollars in development funds, and the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation awarded the network its 2015 Impact Award for Development Impact. The British government also supports the network with development funds.

Bridge International Academies issued a statement about the impending closures, saying in part:

Bridge International Academies has expressed sincere concern over statements made in the Ugandan parliament this afternoon threatening to force 12,000 Bridge children out of school and 800 Ugandans out of work, by seeking the closure of Bridge International Academies. Bridge has been working in partnership with the Government of Uganda to ensure that all Ugandan children have access to a high quality education.

“We are waiting to receive the report referred to in Parliament and a copy of the Parliamentary Hansard to review the Ministry’s concerns,” says Michael Kaddu, Head of Corporate and Public Affairs for Bridge International Academies in Uganda. “We have been working closely with the Ministry to put the needs of the children first and come to a speedy resolution of any issues made known to us.”

“In the meantime, our academies are running as usual as we continue to work with the relevant educational authorities to uphold our commitment to our parents and communities to provide a world-class education to their children.”


Bridge International Academies operates in a few African countries, with most of its schools in Kenya, where some 100,000 students are enrolled. BIA officials and their backers say the schools are meant to provide high-quality nursery and primary education for a small fee, about $5 a month on average, in places where public education is poor or nonexistent.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/08/17/saying-kids-were-endangered-uganda-is-closing-schools-backed-by-u-s-world-bank-bill-gates-and-mark-zuckerberg/

For-profit schools in third world countries?
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