Responding to the UK Government announcing a pledge of £430m to
the 2021-2025 replenishment of the Global Partnership for
Education, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the
National Education Union, said:
“The Prime Minister’s announcement is a welcome start but falls
desperately short of the case for £600m presented by civil
society and parliamentarians from all parties.
“The Prime Minister sought out the leadership of this
replenishment – during an unprecedented education emergency –
with a manifesto commitment to champion girls’ right to learn.
Since then, the Prime Minister has decimated the aid budget,
taken an axe to education spending, and shattered promises to the
very girls he promised to champion. This is the unavoidable
context of today’s announcement.
“As co-host of the replenishment, the Prime Minister’s primary
duty is to hit the $5bn target. Achieving this is an integral
step on the journey to ensuring every child realises their right
to learn. But the Prime Minister’s ODA cuts have hamstrung the
UK’s GPE pledge, and this short-sighted ambition now risks
cascading downstream.
“If other key donors follow the Prime Minister’s lead, the $5bn
target will be missed – damaging the UK’s integrity on global
education and compromising millions of children’s futures.
“To deliver a successful replenishment, realise his manifesto
commitments, and persuade others to back his girls’ education
plan, the Prime Minister must restore ODA to 0.7% of GNI, reverse
the cuts to education and top-up today’s pledge ahead of July’s
summit.”
