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Report finds privatization of early childhood sector a global challenge

A recent global analysis of the early childhood care and education (ECCE) sector finds that, in the absence of state support for child care in many countries, non-state (or private) actors have stepped in. 

Privatization of early childhood education is outpacing other levels of levels 

Privatization of early childhood education has expanded rapidly in recent years, at a faster pace than other levels or ages of education.1 The authors’ analysis of trends in different countries found that privatization has created significant inequities, with ECCE remaining unaffordable for poorer families, and inaccessible to children in remote and rural areas.2

Consistent with Canadian data,3 the review finds that, globally, privatization of ECCE impacts the experiences of educators working in the sector. Educators working in the private sector were more likely to have shorter term, temporary contracts, lower pay, and poorer working conditions.4 

Citing the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) report, the authors state that non-state actors now “lead the delivery of care and education services for children under three”, with for-profit organizations dominating in many countries: in 2018, private institutions accounted for 57% of enrolment for children under three years in high-income countries and 46% in middle-income countries.5 

Access to early childhood education grounded in human rights frameworks

The findings, published in a report by the Public Education and Human Rights Coalition (PEHRC) – a global network challenging the growing trend of education privatization –  reaffirms the case for access to quality public education as a human right.

The right to child care is articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The frameworks “underscore the state’s obligation to guarantee access to child care childcare – not only to uphold children’s rights to care, protection, and development, but also to redistribute the unequal burden of unpaid childcare work, which is borne disproportionately by women”.6

Increased public investment and oversight recommended to mitigate inequities

The report recommends that state actors:

  • Enact laws and monitoring systems to ensure non-state providers comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), particularly Article 4.
  • Regularly assess all non-state services for availability, accessibility, quality, and rights compliance.
  • Guarantee beneficiaries, especially children, access to independent monitoring and legal remedies.
  • Transparently evaluate the political, financial, and economic implications of privatisation, considering potential rights limitations.
  • Involve local communities, including children, families, and vulnerable groups, in service assessments.
  • Ensure privatisation or outsourcing agreements are detailed, independently monitored, and transparent. 

Read the full report here.

Citation: Michaelsamy, R. (2026). Privatisation of Early Childhood Care and Education: Trends, Challenges and Human Rights Implications. Public Education and Human Rights Coalition. https://www.pehrc-coalition.org/our-work/privatisation-and-earlychildhood-care-and-education

Endnotes

  1. See page 26 in full report ↩︎
  2. See page 38 in full report ↩︎
  3. Charters, Thomas J; Findlay, Leanne C. (2026) Child care centre workers serving children aged 0 to 5 years in Canada, 2021 to 2022. Statistics Canada. https://doi.org/10.25318/36280001202401200004-eng ↩︎
  4. See page 43 in full report ↩︎
  5. UNESCO (2022). Global education monitoring report: Non-state actors in education: Who chooses? Who loses? ↩︎
  6. See page 8 in full report. ↩︎