Bridge International Academies - Revision history

Tamasin Cave: /* Expanding into Liberia */

2017-08-18T20:35:50Z

Expanding into Liberia

Tamasin Cave: /* Expanding into Liberia? */

2017-08-18T20:35:33Z

Expanding into Liberia?

Tamasin Cave at 14:59, 12 February 2016

2016-02-12T14:59:01Z

Tamasin Cave at 14:52, 12 February 2016

2016-02-12T14:52:00Z

Tamasin Cave at 14:48, 12 February 2016

2016-02-12T14:48:34Z

Tamasin Cave at 14:37, 12 February 2016

2016-02-12T14:37:50Z

Tamasin Cave: /* Funders */

2016-02-12T14:34:23Z

Funders

Tamasin Cave: /* =Directors */

2016-02-12T14:28:46Z

=Directors

Tamasin Cave: /* People */

2016-02-12T14:28:36Z

People

Tamasin Cave: /* Funders */

2016-02-12T14:03:08Z

Funders

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 In January 2016, Liberia's education minister, George Werner, announced that the country's pre-primary and primary schools will move over to be run by ‘public-private’ partnerships in a $65 million five year programme called “Partnership Schools for Liberia”<ref>[https://efareport.wordpress.com/2016/02/12/what-happens-if-an-education-system-is-outsourced/ What happens if an education system is outsourced?], Global Education Monitoring Report, 12 February 2016</ref>
-Initially Bridge International Academies was to be the only private operator to run 120 schools under the PPP after Werner and Liberian President Sirleaf visited Bridge schools in Uganda and Kenya. After public outcry and international criticism, an additional seven education providers were included and the number of schools in the pilot reduced. These seven providers were chosen by a committee chaired by Werner and advisers from UK schools operator and global PPP champions, [[ARK]].
+Initially Bridge International Academies was to be the only private operator to run 120 schools under the PPP after Werner and Liberian President Sirleaf visited Bridge schools in Uganda and Kenya. After public outcry and international criticism, an additional seven education providers were included and the number of schools in the pilot reduced. These seven providers were chosen by a committee chaired by Werner and advisers from UK schools operator and global PPP champions, [[Ark]].
 Launched in September 2016, the programme consists of 93 schools in year one, rising to 202 in year two (plus a state-run comparison group), allocated as follows (year 1/year 2): Bridge International Academies: 25/68; [[Omega Schools]] 17/19; Rising Academies: 5/29; the NGO [[BRAC]]: 20/33; Street Child: 12/23; More Than Me: 6/18; and Liberian organisations Liberian Youth Network: 4/6; and Stella Maris: 4/6.<ref>[http://globalinitiative-escr.org/advocacy/privatization-in-education-research-initiative/education-privatisation-in-liberia/ Privatisation in Liberia], Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, accessed August 2017</ref>

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 New regulations introduced in Kenya in 2015 have called into question Bridge's plans to expand further in the country.<ref>http://www.africareview.com/News/Kenya-stops-expansion-of-Bill-Gates-backed-schools/-/979180/2883584/-/format/xhtml/-/9foj75/-/index.html Kenya stops expansion of Bill Gates-backed schools], Africa Review, 24 September 2015</ref>
-===Expanding into Liberia?===
+===Expanding into Liberia===
-In January 2016, Liberia's new education minister, George Werner, announced that the country's pre-primary and primary schools will move over to be run by ‘public-private’ partnerships in a $65 million five year deal.<ref>[https://efareport.wordpress.com/2016/02/12/what-happens-if-an-education-system-is-outsourced/ What happens if an education system is outsourced?], Global Education Monitoring Report, 12 February 2016</ref>
+In January 2016, Liberia's education minister, George Werner, announced that the country's pre-primary and primary schools will move over to be run by ‘public-private’ partnerships in a $65 million five year programme called “Partnership Schools for Liberia”<ref>[https://efareport.wordpress.com/2016/02/12/what-happens-if-an-education-system-is-outsourced/ What happens if an education system is outsourced?], Global Education Monitoring Report, 12 February 2016</ref>
-It is not yet certain who those private partners will be. However, a report in early 2016 suggests that Bridge Academies is involved. It was reported that the minister 'has started negotiations for Bridge to come to Liberia and manage the primary education sector on a private-public partnership program'. Bridge officials were reportedly in Liberia to arrange for a pilot project of the first 50 schools.<ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/201601291751.html Liberia: Education Minister Negotiates Public Private Partnership Deal], AllAfrica website, 29 January 2016</ref>
+Initially Bridge International Academies was to be the only private operator to run 120 schools under the PPP after Werner and Liberian President Sirleaf visited Bridge schools in Uganda and Kenya. After public outcry and international criticism, an additional seven education providers were included and the number of schools in the pilot reduced. These seven providers were chosen by a committee chaired by Werner and advisers from UK schools operator and global PPP champions, [[ARK]].
 ==Criticism==

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 *[[Bill Gates]]
 *[[Mark Zuckerberg]], invested $10 million in 2015
-*the UK government's [[Department for International Development]] (DFID); invested $6 million in 2014
+*the UK government's [[Department for International Development]] (DFID). The first investment of DFID’s new Impact Fund - a 13 year programme worth £75 million being managed by CDC, the UK's development finance institution – was a £15 million investment in the venture fund, Novastar to support the latter’s investment in Bridge International Academies. Novastar, which was founded by the Directors of [[Springhill Equity Partners]], states on its website, referring to Bridge: ‘The “market” for such affordable high-quality education in low-income communities is immense. In January 2014 it was announced that CDC will invest $6 million in equity in Bridge.<ref>[http://curtisresearch.org/Report%20%20DFID%20Education%20%20Curtis%20%20September%202015.pdf DFID’S controversial support for private education], report by Mark Curtis, September 2015</ref>
 *[[Overseas Private Investment Corporation]] (OPIC; US government investment); provided a $10 million long-term loan in December 2013 for expansion costs
 *[[International Finance Corporation]] of the [[World Bank]]; invested, for example, $10 million in January 2014. It was chosen by Bridge as an investor 'because it can play a large role in engaging government leadership in discussing issues that are key to our business (e.g., how to define progress in education, how to measure success, etc.)', says Bridge Academies' founder, Shannon May: 'Both public and private donors should engage in policy reforms and help design national policies around businesses that are targeting the bottom of the pyramid'.<ref>[https://publications.iadb.org/handle/11319/6642?locale-attribute=en ''The Broadband Effect: Enhancing Market-based Solutions for the Base of the Pyramid''], report for Inter-American Development Bank, 2014</ref>
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 ==Contacts==
 Website: www.bridgeinternationalacademies.com
 ==References==

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 {{Template:Schools badge}}
-'''Bridge International Academies''' claims to be the world’s largest chain of primary and pre-primary schools delivering low-cost private schooling across Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.
+'''Bridge International Academies''' is a for-profit company that claims to be the world’s largest chain of primary and pre-primary schools delivering low-cost private schooling. It operates across Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda with plans to expand into other countries, such as India.
-It has been criticised for promoting the privatisation of schooling, which increases inequality, provides no learning gains, and de-professionalises teachers.
+The company has been criticised for promoting the privatisation of schooling, which increases inequality, provides no learning gains, and de-professionalises teachers.
 It has some influential backers including the British and US governments, [[Bill Gates]], [[Mark Zuckerberg]], and venture capitalists like [[New Enterprise Associates]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:48, 12 February 2016
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	It has been criticised for promoting the privatisation of schooling, which increases inequality, provides no learning gains, and de-professionalises teachers.		It has been criticised for promoting the privatisation of schooling, which increases inequality, provides no learning gains, and de-professionalises teachers.
		+
		+	It has some influential backers including the British and US governments, [[Bill Gates]], [[Mark Zuckerberg]], and venture capitalists like [[New Enterprise Associates]].

	=='School-in-a-box'==		=='School-in-a-box'==

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 ==People==
 Bridge Academies was co-founded in 2008 by [[Jay Kimmelman]], [[Shannon May]], and [[Phil Frei]].
-===Directors==
+===Directors===
 *[[Jay Kimmelman]], CEO: Kimmelman also co-founded [[EduSoft]], an online testing platform (sold to publishers, [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]])
 *[[Shannon May]], director. Former financial analyst at [[Morgan Stanley]], and previously 'led the creation of several new online media initiatives' at Hachette]]