FreshEd #36 - Bridge International and Curtis Riep (Angelo Gavrielatos)

Low-fee private schools are a hot topic in educational research. What happens when public schooling is provided by for-profit companies that charge families monthly user fees? What happens when those companies receive government funds? Researchers around the world have been exploring various issues around for-profit public schooling. One company has been of particular interest. Bridge International Academies operates schools in Africa and Asia and is supported by people such as Bill Gates and Mark Zukerburg. Bridge International uses a standard curriculum that is read off of a tablet computer. This low-cost model of schooling relies on paying small wages to instructors, who simply read the curriculum, and fees paid by students to attend (or government subsidies). I can be extremely profitable when delivered to scale. In the most extreme case, in Liberia, the Ministry of education is trying to outsource its entire primary education system to Bridge International. Given Bridge international’s work, it’s no wonder that researchers are interested in exploring what's happening at the policy level and at the school level when it comes to low-fee private schools. In May this year, Canadian Researcher Curtis Riep was in Uganda researching Bridge International’s work. At one of his meetings, held at a local café, he was arrested for impersonation and criminal trespassing while collecting data. These charges were later proven to be baseless and he was released and not charged . The interesting thing, however, is that Bridge International seems to have played a role in Curtis’ arrest. Before he was arrested, for instance, Bridge International took out a public notice in New Vision, a local newspaper, warning the general public of Dr. Riep's presence. My guest today takes us through this odd case and explores the larger issues around Bridge International. Angelo Gavrielatos is a project director at Education International, the Global federation of teacher unions and the organization that funded Curtis Riep's research. After recording the show with Angelo, new developments unfolded in Uganda. Check out FreshEdpodcast.com for the latest updates.