The World Bank and UNESCO Education Finance Watch (EFW) report is good. In 2021, at the COVID-19 pandemic’s peak, low-income nations’ education spending rose from 3.2% to 3.6% of GDP. For the first time, these countries’ governments funded more than half of education costs despite having a GDP share below 4%.
Human capital investments like education and human rights boost economic growth. Continuing to subsidize low-income children’s education is a terrific worldwide endeavor. Low-income countries benefit most from education, especially higher education.
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Even though official development aid (ODA) dropped 7%, households still pay for most schooling, with over one-third going to low-income nations.
Foreign aid was halted.
Despite global requests for foreign education grants, they have stopped. It dropped to 9.7% in 2013 and 2015 before climbing in 2020–2021. As expected, pandemic donors prioritized health.
Through donor assistance agencies, international and national NGOs, and multilateral organizations, the ten largest donors sent most of their direct aid to low-income sub-Saharan African countries. Only 30% of beneficiaries were reached.
Unfortunately, pandemic-related school cancellations are wasting money on education as governments and communities fight inflation. The total unpaid educational aid since 2017 is $1.7 billion.
How may education funds be better allocated?
In 2021, government spending as a proportion of GDP dropped in all national income groups except low-income nations. The average amount per child is the easiest approach to evaluating a country’s education finances. Comparisons, however challenging, help determine high-quality education costs across countries and conditions. Since 2012, government spending per person has increased across all income classes. Despite fewer schoolchildren, high-income countries have increased per-child spending by $1,008 compared to $14 in low-income countries.
Education funding per student must rise. Countries with the lowest per-school-age child spending have the worst learning outcomes, but investing more in education does not always improve performance. Increasing education funding per person in low- and lower-middle-income nations with expanding populations is harder. In countries with declining enrollment, increasing per-child education spending can enhance learning without hurting the economy.
Inflation, high debt-to-GDP ratios, and diminishing ODA, especially in low-income countries, make investing in education for the poor essential. This could boost human capital and economic sustainability and reduce the epidemic’s impact on education.
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