Report calls for more spending on education

A new report wants low-income countries to dedicate up to five per cent of their national incomes to education.

This, the report adds, is in order to facilitate their transition to high-income status and safeguard young people's chances in the workplace.

It warns that failure to invest in education systems could lead to loss of up to $1.8 trillion (Sh180 trillion) by the low-income countries by 2050, estimated at 70 per cent of their GDP potential.

The report by the Education Commission that is made up of presidents, former prime ministers, business and education leaders, was presented to the UN Secretary General at the start of the ongoing 71st General Assembly.

It notes that neglect of the education sector is the biggest challenge that countries will face over the next 15 years, adding that besides spending more than the current three per cent of their national incomes on education, all schools need to go digital.

The Commission proposes major reform of the global institutions and calls for a new consortium of multilateral development banks that will pool resources, in part by leveraging the flows to the World Bank from repayment of past debts.

By raising their commitment to education to 15 per cent of their combined budgets, they can generate an additional $20 billion (Sh2 trillion) annually by 2030 – increasing the number of qualified learners to a level ten times the number today in low-income countries.

Education Commission Chair and UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown said, "Delivering high standards of education to millions who lose out is the civil rights struggle of our generation. The evidence before the commission proves education is the best anti-poverty investment the world can make."

The report noted that unequal distribution of opportunities fuels further discontent.