Pearson has expanded its international presence with a pledge to invest up to $20 million (£12.5 million) in sustainable education projects in the developing world.
The charitable investment, announced at yesterday’s Global Partnership for Education (GPE) meeting in Copenhagen, will support entrepreneurial teachers that want to establish or grow schools in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
The pledge also includes a commitment from Pearson to help devise a new set of literacy and numeracy standards for non-OECD countries against which they can measure the effectiveness of their education policies.
Pearson has been actively looking to increase its presence in the developing world this year. In January, following its acquisition of a majority stake in Indian education company TutorVista for £79 million, the group said it wanted to build "significant education companies in selected fast-growing markets".
Announcing its investment at the GPE, Pearson said it would work in partnership with governments, international agencies and other donors to support the organisation’s charitable aims.
“At Pearson we employ thousands of education experts, working in over 70 countries, and we plan to use that expertise to help achieve the objectives of the GPE over the next three years,” said John Fallon, chief executive of Pearson’s international education business.
Established in 2002, the GPE is comprised of 46 developing countries and over 30 bilateral, regional and international agencies, as well as development banks, private sector companies, teachers and local and global civil society groups. Yesterday’s meeting raised an initial $1.5 billion for 2012-14.