Privatization of Education in the Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Context: old and new faces that challenge the realization of the Human Right to Education

Abstract

In recent years, the process of privatization of education has assumed many different forms in the Latin American and Caribbean countries. In the context from beginning of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, there was an intensification of some of the already known expressions and the entry of new dynamics, which add to the complex regional framework. This text explores some contemporary manifestations of the privatization of education during the health emergency in in the Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC). Adopting a conceptual framework that addresses the phenomenon from a human rights perspective, the research analyzes: documents produced by multilateral in 2020; webpages of ministries of education in the region; interviews with researchers and representatives of civil society movements. The data point to a greater participation of technological companies in the educational area and the direct transfer of resources from the States to the private sector, which indicates the need to deepen knowledge about the phenomenon and its impacts on public systems of education.