In this position paper, the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) investigates the importance of funding in education and training, its sources and its impact on access to learning and on the quality of the learning provided. The following conversations warrant a disclaimer on the terminology used in the paper. Though at times funding and investment in education and training are used interchangeably the two have different implications.
LLLP sides with the concept of funding when it comes to learning in this Position Paper, which represents the resources that governments are responsible for providing to various sectors for different purposes. Securing education as a human right implies a responsibility of states to fund a system in which all learners are welcomed, supported and aided to develop holistically and fully. This includes making lifelong learning entitlements a reality as part of extending the human right to education. On the other hand, investment allows for spreading the responsibility of putting resources in education and training to various stakeholders, including for-profit ones, while tying learning to a market goal-oriented approach.
This concept does not treat the provision of learning as a public good. Moreover, reducing the sustenance of life simply to economic gains misses out on the broader societal challenges for which learners must be prepared. At the same time, the investment narrative misses out on the importance of ensuring that the public authorities maintain responsibility over learning at all stages of life given their role in providing an aggregated response to societal challenges and their responsibility in ensuring the right to learning is accessed by all.
