Aid to education dropped 10 percent over 2 years

Global Partnership of Education board chair Julia Gillard, in an interview with Devex earlier this year, expressed that she was “very concerned about the declining donor support to education.” She has reason to be. Education seems to be inching down the list of donors’ priorities, a new policy paper by UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report, which was released a week before the June 25-26 GPE replenishment pledging conference in Brussels, Belgium, confirmed. The share of education in total aid fell from 10.2 percent in 2009 to 8.7 percent in 2012. While aid to education alone steadily rose from 2002 to 2010, it dropped 10 percent from 2010 to 2012. Aid to basic education on the decline Meanwhile, the decrease of $627 million for basic education between 2011 and 2012 brought aid to this crucial subsector — the focus of the second Millennium Development Goal — down to 2008 levels. In sub-Saharan Africa, where more than half of the world’s out-of-school children live, aid to basic education dropped between 2010 and 2011 and stagnated between 2011 and 2012. South and West Asia, regions where aid to basic education shrank 26 percent between 2010 and 2012, were also hit hard. Aid to basic education in India and Pakistan, in particular, experienced a decrease of $278 million and $60 million, respectively, from 2010 to 2012. While there was a slight uptick in aid to basic education between 2011 and 2012, aid to this subsector remained 6 percent below the 2010 level. Much of the increase was also limited to just a few countries, including Bangladesh, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. This left 22 low-income countries with less aid to basic education than in 2010. The majority of donors — 28 out of 42 donors, in particular — devoted less to basic education in 2012 compared with their 2010 contributions. Australia, United States and United Kingdom allocated more to basic education while the World Bank, the Netherlands and EU institutions slashed their aid to this subsector. The decline in aid to basic education is worrying since donor support remains an important component of education spending in several low-income countries. For instance, in 12 countries — Liberia, Afghanistan, Malawi, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Haiti, Mozambique, Cambodia and Sierra Leone — donor spending comprised at least a quarter of their public spending on education in 2012. Education gets a small share in humanitarian aid Education is also an overlooked part of humanitarian appeals. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Global Education First Initiative set a target for education to make up at least 4 percent of humanitarian funding. But a closer look at the humanitarian appeals funded in 2013 shows that education received just half of this target, at 2 percent. The low priority given to education seems to reflect the general impression that ensuring survival — through funding channeled toward food and health — is the only focus of humanitarian appeals. This has led to what the EFA Global Monitoring Report calls a “double disadvantage.” Education not only gets the smallest share of humanitarian appeals; it also receives one of the lowest proportions of funding requests. For instance, last year, education received 40 percent of its requested amount. In comparison, food and health received 86 percent and 57 percent, respectively. Neglecting education as a vital factor in humanitarian aid has important implications, especially since 23 million out-of-school children come from conflict-affected countries. The upcoming GPE replenishment pledging conference, which aims to raise $3.5 billion for the 2015-2018 period, could spur donors to recommit themselves to supporting education. With the $26 billion needed to get every child in school by 2015 — the deadline for the MDGs — there looms a pressing need for some substantial pledges and contributions. What do you think will happen at next week’s GPE replenishment pledging conference? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Check out more practical business and development advice online, and subscribe to Money Matters to receive the latest contract award and shortlist announcements, and procurement and fundraising news.