Underachievers

A School Report on Rich Countries’ Contribution to Universal Primary Education by 2015

Global Campaign for Education report

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Summary

“Minister – have you asked me what I need as a pupil? As you sit confidently in front of others do you think of what I need to also sit in that chair in future?”

Lusibilo, Malawian schoolchild, to the Malawian Minister of Education

“Last year we made great strides in the fight against poverty... now the more difficult task begins to make the world keep its promises. Promises to children should never be broken.”

Nelson Mandela, 10th April 2006

Recent history is littered with noble promises to the world’s children. Education For All is an affordable and achievable goal, yet even primary schooling is still out of reach for over 100 million girls and boys. The vast majority live in poor countries, and are desperately in need of the light and hope that learning offers. For these children, gaining an education represents their only chance to lift themselves out of poverty and realise a host of rights that those fortunate enough to be born in the rich nations of the world take for granted.

In recent years, poor countries have shown themselves increasingly committed to ending the scourge of illiteracy and ignorance. More and more governments are making efforts to break down barriers to poor children’s participation, taking the bold step of abolishing tuition fees for schooling. Budgets for primary education are increasing, particularly in some of the very poorest nations. And efforts are paying off; since 1998, primary school enrolment has increased in both sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia, with nearly 20 million new students in each region. Girls’ enrolment in those regions has risen especially quickly.

In 2000, at the World Conference on Education for All in Dakar, Senegal, rich countries struck a bargain with their counterparts in poorer nations. They declared that “no countries seriously committed to education for all will be thwarted in their achievement of this goal by a lack of resources”. Yet, in 2006, following repeated pledges, assurances and undertakings, rich nations are still failing to fulfil their part in the contract.

The latest figures show that bilateral aid to basic education increased to $3.3 billion per year, with a bigger share of this going to poor countries. This is undeniable progress, and has changed the lives of millions of poor people. Yet it still leaves an annual gap of at least $3.7 billion in desperately-needed resources, and very likely more.

Recent estimates suggest that the total external requirement may be as much as $10 billion per annum, taking into account the slow pace of progress so far, realistic economic growth targets and the challenges of HIV/AIDS and conflict. This report shows that some countries, such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg and the Netherlands make heroic efforts in contributing their fair share of aid and ensuring it helps get poor children into school. The UK government has recently taken steps to improve its record in this area, promising to provide $16 billion in aid to basic education between now and 2015. This sets a standard for other G8 nations to live up to. At the other end of the scale, some of the very richest countries, G8 nations such as Japan, Italy, Germany and the USA, show themselves to be misers when it comes to helping the world’s poor children.

Money is needed not for luxury items, but for the very basics of education. It should be used to enable children to be taught by a caring qualified teacher, in a proper classroom, using textbooks and other learning materials. Between now and 2015, at least 18 million teachers will be needed to give all a chance of real learning. Our analysis shows that the practice of tying aid to the purchase of goods and services from the originating country and the use of expensive consultants remains a problem. Very few countries prove themselves willing to help countries meet the running costs of education – especially the teacher salary bill. This problem is exacerbated by the undermining of the teaching profession by international financial institutions. Rich countries and the international financial institutions must work together to ensure that predictable resources are available over the long-term to employ these indispensable professionals.

Equally concerning is that our analysis shows that the Education For All Fast Track Initiative (FTI), a flagship scheme set up under G8 auspices to make the global compact envisaged at Dakar a reality, remains fragile. This innovative initiative has so far encouraged 20 countries to devise strategies and reallocate domestic resources to achieve universal primary completion and gender equality in education. They did so, on the promise that additional financing would be forthcoming to deliver their goals. Although some resources have been mobilised behind these plans, these pioneering countries still face a collective annual shortfall in funding of some $415 million. As a result, plans to reach 16 million of the world’s out-of-school children are kept in limbo. Another 40 countries could be ready to go for FTI endorsement within the next two years, but will scarcely do so with confidence given the experience of the first few.

Rich countries must aim higher and work together better to give every boy and girl their right to an education. They should set timetables for achieving the aid target of 0.7% GNI, and ensure that this aid, together with full debt cancellation, targets low-income countries and funds their basic education strategies. Donors and international institutions should work together to ensure that more money is available for the core expenses of building a robust education system, including paying teachers’ salaries. To encourage ambitious planning, aid should be long-term and predictable. The FTI should be the centrepiece of efforts to achieve Education For All. The immediate financing gap must be closed as a matter of urgency, and rich countries should make advance commitments to fund the forthcoming plans of up to 40 countries.

The time for action is now. It should not be forgotten that the goal set in 2000 was for all children to complete a primary education by 2015. This means that the world has just two more years to build schools, recruit teachers and reach out to poor excluded children living in the most trying of circumstances. This is not about money, it is about justice. It is about keeping our word to the world’s children. A promise to a child should never be broken.

“We will have time to reach the Millennium Development Goals – but only if we break with business as usual…. Nothing less will help to achieve the Goals.”