A/HRC/41/37 C. Public-private partnerships 54. Public-private partnerships in education are probably one of the most controversial and sensitive topics. The Abidjan Principles set out a useful compilation of existing standards that can help to navigate the issue. 55. Target 17 of Sustainable Development Goal 17 may be read as encouraging publicprivate partnerships. However, the wording of the target is broad, demanding that stakeholders “encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships”. “Publicprivate” is thus only one type of partnership among others. 56. An important forthcoming study recalls that public-private partnership programmes tend to be analysed in generic terms, without necessarily taking into account the importance of their design variables in mediating policy impact.48 Other forms of partnerships in education, such as alternative partnership approaches to those focusing on the private provision of schooling, could be explored without undermining equity and social cohesion. In the study, the authors emphasize that there are many forms of partnerships in education still to explore, which, in contrast to public-private partnerships oriented towards school competition and segmentation, can contribute to strengthening educational systems and guarantee the right to quality education for all. Such partnerships could be established with a broad range of actors, such as universities and educational research centres, community organizations and local or international NGOs. Instead of focusing on school provision, the partnerships could focus on the promotion of teacher training, capacity-building at the public administration level, support services for schools or family engagement in education. 57. Overall, the study shows that empirical research on educational public-private partnerships appears to find more negative than positive effects on a variety of dimensions ranging from student achievement to family satisfaction. In the case of market-based public-private partnerships, particularly negative evidence relates to human rights impacts, such as segregation. Even a report commissioned by Ark Education Partnerships Group, an organization running a network of 38 schools in the United Kingdom under a public-private partnership arrangement, found that current evidence “does not allow us to draw strong and universal conclusions about the impact of PPPs on learning outcomes”.49 58. The Abidjan Principles recall that: “States must prioritise the funding and provision of free, quality, public education” (Guiding Principle 64). That is based on the practice of treaty bodies, such as the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which recommended, for instance, that Brazil “strictly prioritiz[e] the public education sector in the distribution of public funds” (CRC/C/BRA/CO/2-4, para. 76). Furthermore, “the right to education does not entail an obligation for the State to fund private instructional educational institutions” (Guiding Principle 64), as also stated by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural rights.50 59. The Abidjan Principles further detail conditions under which States may still fund private actors and list the type of actors that may be eligible for funding. Importantly, institutions that are “commercially-orientated or pursue other commercial benefits, or excessive personal gains” should generally not receive funding. As underlined by the previous Special Rapporteur, “A differentiated approach to public-private partnerships is necessary to distinguish partners with for-profit business interests in education from those who are committed to a social interest in education, especially those with a genuine philanthropic spirit” (A/70/342, para. 125). That approach also corresponds to the view, for example, of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which recommended that Haiti guarantee that public-private partnerships “do not serve private interests or entail any form of commercialization of education” (CRC/C/HTI/CO/2-3, para. 59). 48 49 50 Antoni Verger, Mauro Moschetti and Clara Fontdevila, “Unpacking PPPs’ effects on education: what research on vouchers, charters and subsidies tells us” (forthcoming). Public-Private Partnerships in Education in Developing Countries: a Rigorous Review of the Evidence (2017). See general comment No. 13, para. 54. 13