Dr Antoni Verger from the Autonomous University of Barcelona will deliver the final Sussex Development Lecture of the Spring 2017 term. He will discuss the Geopolitics behind Alternative forms of Educational Provision in the Global South: The case of Low-Fee Private Schools?
This lecture focuses on the reasons, agents, and other type of drivers behind the emergence and expansion of Low-Fee Private Schools (LFPSs) in the global south, and discusses the policy and socio-educational implications of such an expansion. Among other things, the presentation shows that a phenomenon that first emerged spontaneously, at a local level and, apparently, by default is now strongly promoted by several influential international players in the education-for-development field, including international organizations, donors and transnational corporations. These actors are actively constructing LFPSs as an appropriate partner to achieve the current global development goals. Accordingly, more and more governments and other key stakeholders are integrating (or considering to integrate) this type of schools into their education expansion plans, policies and strategies.
About the Speaker
Dr. Antoni Verger is a lecturer at the Department of Sociology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). He was awarded a PhD in Sociology from the same university in December 2007 for his work on the WTO/GATS and the international liberalization of education, which was published by Routledge (New York) in 2010.
Currently, his main areas of research are the global governance of education and the role of international organizations, transnational civil society networks and the private sector in global education politics and, the analysis of education privatization, public-private partnerships and quasi-markets in education and their impact on education inequalities. He also collaborates with and has conducted research for UNESCO, the Global Campaign for Education, Education International and several European aid agencies.
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