In this blog, Isabella Kempf, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, reflects on an Oxfam report from 2026:
“Oxfam asserts that we are moving towards an ‘era of global oligarchy’ marked by unprecedented concentrations of economic power. While Oxfam’s analysis focuses on the implications of oligarchic power for global health, taxation and international cooperation, these dynamics are also deeply connected to global trends in education: cuts of funding for education in international cooperation; growing inequality driven by the expansion of private education; and the declining prioritization of education as a human right and public good.”
Mrs Kempf also writes: “Another major trend reinforcing educational inequality is the privatization of education. ..In low- and middle-income countries, children from the richest 20% of households are 10 times more likely to attend private school than the poorest 20%, raising serious concerns about equitable access to quality education and the financial burden placed on low-income families. Closely related is the rapid expansion of shadow education in the form of private tutoring, often driven by neoliberal education policies. In countries such as Greece, Mauritius and Myanmar, over 70% of students across all grades reportedly participate in private tutoring.”