Bridge International Academies

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Bridge International Academies (BIA) is a company operating for-profit preschools and primary schools in developing countries, particularly in Africa .

history

2008 Bridge International Academies in was Kenyan Nairobi American US by the couple Shannon May and Jay Kimmel man and the Canadian-Swiss Phil founded free. Kimmelmann was previously a software entrepreneur. The company's aim is to run schools with low operating costs and school fees. Uniform software is used for this. In 2009 the first BIA school was opened in Mukuru kwa Njenga in eastern Nairobi.

In 2014 ten BIA schools in Kenya were judicially closed due to poor quality. In 2017, another court upheld the decision. In 2016, the Ugandan government decreed that numerous BIA schools should close - BIA refused and sued. The High Court ruled in the government's favor.

In 2015 Shannon May was one of the 15 women changing the world in 2015 at the World Economic Forum (“15 women who changed the world in 2015 ”).

structure

The company operates around 500 profit-oriented preschools and primary schools in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and India . BIA also benefits from the privatization of primary schools in Liberia . In 2025, around ten million students in twelve countries are to be taught by BIA. The lessons are extremely standardized. The instructors use a tablet to follow a precisely defined schedule, which, for example, prescribes pre-formulated questions and specifies the teacher's behavior, such as “run around in the class!” ( Scripted teaching ). The instructors are usually trained for six weeks and then receive a salary 30% lower than that of qualified teachers.

Ownership and Financing

Bridge International Academies is one of the shareholders of the British media group Pearson , which sees the program as a way of doing business in Africa. He also acquired the majority in the CTI Education Group , which trains around 9,000 students at twelve locations in South Africa . Other investors include the US investment firms NEA and Learn Capital .

The program is funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative , Bill Gates Investments , the UK Department for International Development, and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation , among others . Another donor is the California- based Omidyar Network , which sees itself as a “people-friendly investment company”.

Controversy

In August 2017, 174 NGOs from 50 countries wrote an appeal to investors to end their commitment to Bridge International Academies.

A study from Liberia provisionally published in September 2017 shows somewhat better school success, but lists numerous deficiencies, such as a significant number of teachers and students being displaced from schools, and above all criticizes the high average costs of 663 to 1050 US dollars per child and year, while the annual budget for a child in a state school is $ 50.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Government promises crackdown as teachers push for ban on UK-backed private schools. standardmedia.co.ke of December 8, 2016 (English), accessed on September 21, 2017
  2. ↑ Court upholds Busia's decision to close 10 Bridge International schools. The Star on February 18, 2017, accessed September 20, 2017
  3. ↑ a b ZCommunications »A controversial American school chain and the battle to teach Africa's children ( English )
  4. ↑ 15 women changing the world in 2015. weforum.org from March 15, 2015 (English), accessed on September 20, 2017
  5. ↑ History at bridgeinternationalacademies.com (English), accessed on September 15, 2017
  6. ^ A b Liberia turns to the private sector in controversial overhaul of failing schools. The Guardian, August 31, 2016, accessed September 20, 2017
  7. ↑ "An affront to our sovereignty". In: Education and Science. 07–08 / 2017, pp. 32–33.
  8. ^ Bridge International Academies in Kenya: quality schooling for less than $ 4 per day. africanbrains.net, March 15, 2011, accessed September 20, 2017
  9. ↑ World Bank peddling private for-profit schools in Africa disguised as aid. mintpressnews.com, accessed September 21, 2017
  10. ↑ List of investors ( memento of September 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) at bridgeinternationalacademies.com (English), accessed on September 20, 2017
  11. ^ Education International (EI), Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT): Bridge vs. Reality. A study of Bridge International Academies' for-profit schooling in Kenya. (English; PDF)
  12. ↑ Investment approach omidyar.com, accessed September 20, 2017
  13. ↑ 174 organizations worldwide call investors to cease support to Bridge International Academies. right-to-education.org, accessed on September 22, 2017
  14. ^ New research commissioned by Liberian government confirms: Bridge International Academies are failing. right-to-education.org, accessed on September 21, 2017