rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/the-problems-with-low-fee-schools?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-the-problems-with-low-fee-schools' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> AFT Activist https://actionnetwork.org/groups/aft-main-e-activist-group https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/groups/default_facebook_images/000/004/355/original/Screen_Shot_2021-09-24_at_10.34.08_AM.png?1632494514 The Economist magazine just published a one-sided cover story promoting so-called low-fee schools, where families have to pay per day or per week to send their child. These fees can be half or more of a family’s income. What’s even worse is that the magazine ran the story without disclosing that Pearson—who invests heavily in these schools—owned 50 percent of The Economist. In the two weeks since the article was published, Pearson has sold its shares of The Economist, but that doesn’t change the fact that the magazine had a duty to disclose the conflict of interest. Pearson is the largest for-profit education company in the world. In the United States, it pushes the high-stakes testing fixation, but in Africa it pushes outright privatization. We’re fighting for a free system, accessible for every child, so that families don’t have to worry about which child they can afford to send to a Pearson-backed school. That’s what happens too often with these “low-fee” schools: A family can only afford to send one child. No parent should have to choose which child can go to school. The Economist’s journalistic integrity should require the magazine to disclose that this article was written and published before Pearson sold its 50 percent stake in the company. Join us in telling The Economist to step up to the plate, correct the record and give its readers a full picture of what these schools actually do to children and families. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/the-problems-with-low-fee-schools