This contribution analyses UNESCO's framework of education as a common good in the context of the Global South. It argues that dominant conceptions view education in a narrow, instrumentalist perspective. Despite its promise to reorient education as a broader social endeavour towards human wellbeing to lead meaningful lives (Sen, 1999), UNESCO's framework has failed to gain significant traction. I argue this is linked to challenges associated with: education and unemployment; global mobility and learning assessment systems; citizenship education; and the global governance of education policymaking.