Financing Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Financing Education in Sub-Saharan Africa Financing Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Meeting the Challenges of Expansion, Equity and Quality In the current economic climate, how can African governments provide every child with a decent education? This report provides the statistical evidence to evaluate the policy trade-offs in responding to the rising demand for primary and secondary education in sub-Saharan Africa. The report presents the most comprehensive and timely data available on the financing of education in 45 sub-Saharan African countries. In addition, historical data enable the authors to track trends since the World Education Forum in 2000 and examine the financial impact of the steadfast commitment of many African governments to provide universal primary education. Over the past ten years, real expenditure on education has risen by 6% annually across the region. It is often assumed that the resources were used to widen enrolment. Yet, recent data show that many countries also made significant investments to improve their educational services. The report also introduces new indicators on critical issues, such as the qualifications and salaries of teachers, the running costs of schools, and the provision of textbooks. The authors STATISTICS examine financing trends in private education, as well as official development assistance, which accounts for more than 50% of public education budgets in some countries. In short, for this report provides the facts – not assumptions – to analyse policy options and optimise the use of limited financial resources. FINANciNG EDUcatioN IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRica International Institute for Educational Planning Meeting the Challenges of Expansion, Equity and Quality INSTITUTE INSTITUTE FinancingEducation Sub-Saharanin Africa: Meeting the Challenges of Expansion, Equity and Quality STATISTICS for www.uis.unesco.org For information: [email protected] ISBN 978-92-9189-097-2 UNESCO 9789291 890972 UNESCO INSTITUTE FINANCING EDUCATION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Meeting the Challenges of Expansion, Equity and Quality International Institute for Educational Planning International Institute for Educational Planning International Institute for Educational Planning UNESCO The constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was adopted by 20 countries at the London Conference in November 1945 and entered into effect on 4 November 1946. The Organization currently has 193 Member States and 7 Associate Members. The main objective of UNESCO is to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to foster universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights and fundamental freedoms that are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations. To fulfill its mandate, UNESCO performs five principal functions: 1) prospective studies on education, science, culture and communication for tomorrow’s world; 2) the advancement, transfer and sharing of knowledge through research, training and teaching activities; 3) standard-setting actions for the preparation and adoption of internal instruments and statutory recommendations; 4) expertise through technical co-operation to Member States for their development policies and projects; and 5) the exchange of specialised information. UNESCO INSTITUTE FOR STATISTICS The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is the statistical office of UNESCO and is the UN depository for global statistics in the fields of education, science and technology, culture and communication. The UIS was established in 1999. It was created to improve UNESCO’s statistical programme and to develop and deliver the timely, accurate and policy- relevant statistics needed in today’s increasingly complex and rapidly changing social, political and economic environments. INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL PLANNING The International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) is an international centre for advanced training and research in the field of educational planning. It was established by UNESCO in 1963 with the aim of contributing to the development of education worldwide by expanding both knowledge and the supply of competent professionals in educational planning. UNESCO-BREDA The UNESCO Office in Dakar and Regional Bureau for Education in Africa (UNESCO-BREDA) is the largest UNESCO Office in Africa. Created in 1970 initially to deal with educational planning in sub-Saharan Africa, the Office has progressively extended its activities to include science, human and social sciences, culture, communication and information. The Pôle de Dakar for education sector analysis is a platform of expertise and training reporting to UNESCO-BREDA. Created in 2001, the Pôle de Dakar supports countries, as well as technical and financial partners, in the areas of education system analysis, development of strategies and monitoring of education sector policies. Published in 2011 by: UNESCO Institute for Statistics P.O. Box 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7 Canada Tel: (1 514) 343-6880 Fax: (1 514) 343-5740 Email: [email protected] http://www.uis.unesco.org © UNESCO-UIS 2011 Ref: UIS/AP/11-01 ISBN: 978-92-9189-079-2 Design: Bang Marketing – bang-marketing.com Photo credits: Frontcover / Cliff Parnell (iStockphoto), David Harris (iStockphoto), Stuart Fox (Getty Images), Ranplett (iStockphoto) Backcover / Andrew Rich (iStockphoto), Lightkey (iStockphoto), Poco_bw (iStockphoto), MissHibiscus (iStockphoto) Printing: Transcontinental Métrolitho The authors are responsible for the choice and presentation of the facts contained in this book and for the opinions expressed therein which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. FOREWORD The World Education Forum, held in Dakar, Senegal in 2000, has proven to be a momentous occasion. The international community formally pledged that “no country shall be thwarted from meeting the [Education for All (EFA)] goals due to lack of resources” (Education for All Forum, 2000). Since then, national governments, international organizations and various stakeholders have been seeking to address the gap in resources which are required to reach these goals. This report presents a new series of data highlighting the tremendous financial commitment of African governments and the international community to achieve EFA. Over the past ten years, real expenditure on education has risen by 6% annually across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), according to the report. It is often assumed that the resources were used to widen enrolment. Yet, recent data show that many countries also made significant investments to improve their educational services. In Burundi and Mozambique, for example, expenditure levels rose by an average of 12% each year. Out of 26 countries with available data, only one country – the Central African Republic – reduced spending on education. As a result of these investments, remarkable progress has been made in educational development in sub-Saharan Africa. The number of children in primary schooling has increased by 48% – from 87 million to 129 million – between 2000 and 2008. Enrolment in pre- primary, secondary and tertiary education has also grown by more than 60% during the same period. Despite these significant improvements, many SSA countries are still a long way from achieving universal primary education (UPE) of adequate quality by 2015. The most recent data show that, in one-third of SSA countries, approximately 50% of all children do not complete primary education. Thirty-two million children of primary school age are still out of school in the region. While achieving UPE will remain the priority for most SSA countries, the report stresses that a more complex challenge in the region will be to design and implement appropriate policies for financing post-primary education. As increasing numbers of primary school graduates demand access to secondary education, governments will need to expand further education by balancing resource requirements and availability, social demands and economic needs for a more highly skilled labor force. Given the uncertainties in the current economic climate, most African governments will have to make strategic decisions on how to provide their growing student populations with higher levels of education. This report examines these policy trade-offs by presenting the most comprehensive and timely data available on the financing of education in 45 SSA countries. Many of the indicators have never been published before and reflect a range of policy issues, such as changes in teacher salaries and private funding of education. This report is largely the result of efforts by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) to improve the production and use of education finance data. In seeking to promote and foster good statistical practices, the UIS works closely with key partners, such the ADEA Working Group on Education Statistics, the African Union and AFRISTAT. In addition, the UIS recently launched a new regional modular questionnaire to fill major gaps in statistical information as identified
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