Education Aid plummets six years in a row

The total amount of aid allocated to education globally has fallen for six years in a row as donors shift their attention to health, population sector and infrastructure, UNESCO has warned.

The UN agency expressed its concerns over aid to education in a new policy paper, Aid to Education is stagnating and Not Going to Countries Most in Need, which shows that the total aid to education stands at US$12 billion, 4 per cent lower than in 2010.

Aid to basic education, which includes support to pre-primary and primary education as well as adult education and literacy programmes, increased from USD$4.8 billion in 2014 to US$5.2 billion in 2015.

Despite the increase, the amount is still six per cent lower than in 2010. Aid to secondary education amounts to US$2.2 billion, representing 19 per cent of total aid to education.

On the other hand, aid to the health and population sector increased from 11.4 per cent in 2004 to 15.9 per cent in 2013, followed by a sharp fall to 12.6 per cent in the following two years.

The share of the transport sector, which was two-thirds the level of education in the mid-2000s, has since 2012 been equal to or higher than education’s share.

The persistent decline in education aid makes it harder for low and lower middle income countries like Kenya to ensure inclusive and quality education for all.

Since 2000, most of these countries have increased their spending on education, but they largely depend on aid to provide quality education as a foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development.

“Aid remains far short of what is needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, putting our commitments at risk,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.