people and planet

20
“
In 2014, 51 out
of 138 countries
spent less than
4% of GDP on
education
”
that have taken the
NEA approach have
created momentum on
which the international
education community
should build. It is often
said that ‘the perfect is
the enemy of the good’;
not all implementation
challenges can be resolved,
especially in countries
with weaker capacity.
The key lesson that the
NEA project brings to the Education 2030 agenda is its
perspective. Planners need to look at education financing
flows comprehensively. This approach holds the key
for understanding who benefits from different funding
sources, and for addressing equity and quality issues
in education.
IMPROVING FINANCIAL DATA
To build strong NEAs, information on expenditure flows
from the three main financing pillars – government,
aid partners and households – needs to improve. This
section covers key challenges.
PUBLIC EXPENDITURE
The two key indicators on public financing of education
appear in the Education 2030 Framework for Action,
which proposed two benchmarks as ‘crucial reference
points’ (§105):
■■
allocate at least 4% to 6% of GDP to education, and/or
■■
allocate at least 15% to 20% of public expenditure
to education.
In 2014, the median global public education expenditure
was 4.6% of GDP, i.e. within the range proposed by the
framework. Expenditure varied from 2.8% in Caucasus
and Central Asia to 5% in Europe and Northern America.
In terms of country income group, low income countries
spent 3.9% of GDP on education, at the low end of
the range. If countries are taken as the unit, 51 of the
138 countries with data spent less than 4% of GDP on
education. Among them were 13 low income countries
and 16 high income countries.
Public education expenditure was 14.2% of total public
expenditure in 2014, which was below the range proposed
by the Framework for Action. Expenditure varied from
12.1% in Europe and Northern America to 16.6% in sub-
Saharan Africa. Low income countries as a group were at
16.7%. Overall, 70 of the 132 countries with data allocated
less than 15% of public expenditure to education,
including 9 low income countries and 37 high income
countries (Table 20.2).
The formulation of the Framework for Action is not
entirely clear. It is first of all inconsistent. On one hand,
it refers to ranges (‘4% to 6%’) but at the same time it
TABLE 20.2:
Public education expenditure, by region and country income group, 2014
Public education expenditure
as % of GDP
Number of countries
that spent