The formal education sector has been dramatically affected by neo-liberal economic policies. In this context, the Education International (EI) will shortly be holding its second World Congress. EI has 284 affiliated organisations representing 23 million education workers in 149 countries. In this article, EI’s Communication Co-ordinator Dominique Marlet gives EI’s perspective on key issues in education today.

Hundreds of teachers from all five continents will be arriving in Washington this month to attend EI's second World Congress. The Congress theme, "Education: Building the 21st Century" , is more than just a statement. It is a warning cry at a time when education is being sacrificed on the altar of budgetary restrictions and has entered into the firing line of the world's investors. Governments often look upon the 1,400 billion dollars spent on education world-wide as a burden, even though it is still a long way from UNESCO's target of 6% of GNP on education. UNESCO estimates in its 1998 report that out of 130 countries examined, 96 spent less than 6%.

Defending public education

Private education has become a potentially lucrative business. In the United States, the business community is eyeing this latest goldmine, since education is a 348 billion dollar business. Yet private education in the country has so far failed to prove its worth. A study carried out by the American Federation of Teachers into a private enterprise called "Edison" which controls 25 schools notes that the results of pupils in these schools fall far short of the claims in the schools' promotional brochures. The performance of schools in the Edison group is rather modest. "In some classes, reading tests showed levels were very mediocre" reveals the trade union report, which criticises overcrowded classes, the hiring of inexperienced - and therefore cheaper -teachers, and a higher than average turnover of teaching staff. The same message is being given by the National Education Association (NEA), the largest US teachers’ organisation. Privatisation is often dressed up as ensuring "greater responsibility, financial savings, efficiency, etc." says the NEA. "All too often, however the results prove to be the exact opposite". Not long ago the Institute for Economic Policy, a think tank close to the trade unions, revealed that pupils at a private establishment had to take out more loans to complete their studies: the people in charge of the school had disappeared taking the money with them and leaving serious debts behind.

The Quebec national teachers' centre sounded the alarm in a 1995 report which concluded that "some people talk about education as an industry which has its entrepreneurs, which is targeted at parents-consumers and which should be governed by competition, while decrying the 'public monopoly' of education". Fred van Leeuwen, General Secretary of EI says "that if we subject education to market forces, we will exacerbate inequalities." A draft resolution to be discussed by EI delegates in Washington considers that a neo-liberal policy, which imposes the privatisation or semi-privatisation of education by reducing the State's financial investment "will have the effect of restricting access to education, particularly for children and adults living in poverty" just as it will "reduce the quality of public education".

Today the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund recognise the vital role of the State in primary and secondary education. The EI hopes that they adopt the same view with regard to higher and vocational education. In the meantime, and despite commitments made at various international meetings, governments continue to reduce State involvement.

Deplorable working conditions

"A teacher is a person who is passionately committed", explains Fred van Leeuwen, "but when he or she sees that the obstacles are piling up, that their status is equivalent to that of a sales representative, then they get fed up."

They have good reason. Today, "70 percent of the 50 million teachers in the world live below the poverty line". Education is a labour intensive sector where salaries and related costs make up a large part of the budget. Most governments, particularly those subjected to structural adjustment, cut costs by reducing both the number of teachers and their pay. Between 1980 and 1987 teachers salaries fell in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America with a sharp 30% drop in Africa. Not only that, an African teacher who still gets a salary can count themselves lucky. Thousands have not been paid for months. In Russia, a cautious estimate suggests that teacher wage arrears amount to 2.6 billion US dollars. It was estimated last year that a Liberian teacher earned less than 10 US dollars per month.

In the rich countries, "education is becoming a matter of mass production", says Fred van Leeuwen. A report published last May by the NEA reveals that US teachers' salaries fell in 1997 in comparison to the previous year. Between 1987 and 1997, teachers' salaries rose on average by only 3.5%. It is poor progress compared to other professions and masks deep disparities between States.

As teachers' salaries fall and education budgets are reduced, the size of classes is rising. In Africa the average class size is one teacher for 60 pupils. In Guatemala there can be as many as 100 per class. This is only slightly more than Bangladesh where it is common for teachers to deal daily with classes of 60 pupils. Research carried out in New Zealand shows that the average working week for teachers well exceeds 50 hours and that many of them work at least six hours each weekend. Excessive workload was on the agenda of the UK National Union of Teachers' congress recently.

With an ever more precarious situation, pitiful salaries and overcrowded class rooms, teachers' lives are turning into a nightmare. People are no longer attracted to the profession. "Today, 50% of European teachers are over 40 and many of them will have transferred to a different sector before they reach retirement age. Younger people seek out more rewarding professions", says Fred van Leeuwen. "Working conditions have become deplorable, the workload unbearable and career prospects non-existent. For many teachers, becoming a teacher means being a prisoner in a classroom for the rest of their life", he adds. Yet there are still plenty of dedicated people in the teaching profession.

Life long learning

Strikes organised by teachers are rarely about pay alone. In most cases, they are fighting to defend education and their pupils. EI's forthcoming Congress will be no exception. In addition to defending public education, the Congress is expected to make concrete proposals about life long learning. The financial world has already set its beady eyes on this concept, but the EI aims to turn it into a rampart against injustice. The fight against child labour as well as the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities will also be on the agenda for successful reform in education, with governments, parent-teacher associations and student organisations. A partnership with its sights set firmly on the future.

For EI the 21st century has already begun through the presence of every student in every classroom.