A report published
today by the International Development Committee calls for
significant spending on global education in order to underpin
efforts to improve lives. Without an educated population, a
country cannot progress out of poverty, says the report. Public
health, skilled workforces, economic prosperity, civil society –
all benefit from sustained investment in global
education.
Rooted in the 2015
Sustainable Development Goals is the aspiration that the poorest
and most marginalised communities are able to learn. SDG4 called
for inclusive and quality education for all, signing up countries
to improve global education in the pursuit of ‘leaving no one
behind.’
Current estimates
predict a $1.8 trillion funding shortfall across middle and low
income countries compared to the resources required to meet SDG4
on education by 2030. Unless donors spend significantly more of
their official development assistance on education, there will
continue to be a funding shortfall. The UK Government should also
use its power to influence partner countries to encourage more of
their domestic spending on education.
The Global
Partnership for Education (GPE) is the only multilateral fund
which focuses solely on education.
The Committee is calling on DFID to give
the full amount requested to GPE, the only multilateral fund for
education, in the next round of funding replenishment. To act as
a driver to other donors, this should be announced early to
encourage other donors to increase their pledges.
Although
the benefits of early years education are proven - better health,
a longer time in education and higher incomes – just 15% of
children in low income countries have access to pre-primary
education compared to 82% in high income
countries. DFID should invest more in
this area: expenditure on early years education is low in
comparison to its investment in other stages of education,
accounting for just under 0.6% of its bilateral education
budget.
The current context
for global education is particularly challenging: around the
world, 263 million children
and young people remain out of school. The global population of
forcibly displaced people is at a record high, including 22.5
million refugees, half of whom are under 18. Half of the world’s
registered refugees are not in school. The mean duration of
refugees and IDPs in exile is 10.3 years – more than a UK child
would spend in primary or secondary education.
Evidence
shows that education is a high priority for families in crisis.
Alongside clean water, food, sanitation and shelter, DFID should
establish a long-term, integrated strategy for supporting
education in emergencies to get children back into structured
learning environments.
The Chair of the International Development Committee,
MP, said:
“With a policy refresh on global education underway at
DFID, the Committee is calling on the Department to put the most
marginalised children and young people at the heart of their
work. The very poorest, disabled children, girls and those
affected by conflict and emergencies, should not be left
behind.
“The Committee supports the Department’s work to ensure
maximum impact for their spending. Resources should be targeted
at the foundations of development and the most marginalised
groups. This should also be borne in mind for cross-Government
funds.
“For
some, the situation in global education is a crisis. One of the
central aims of Sustainable Development Goal 4, agreed in 2015,
was that no-one would be left behind. To achieve this in
education will require a substantial increase in finance, access
and quality. DFID is recognised as a global leader in promoting
education in developing countries and we urge them to champion
the needs of the most marginalised children and young people
across the world.”
