people and planet

20
countries is that estimates exclude about 15% of total
aid to education, which is not assigned to any particular
country. Much of this corresponds to disbursements by
the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), a growing
source of funding for education in low income countries.
Donors’ contributions to the GPE are subsumed within
their aid reporting to the CRS, and GPE disbursements
are estimated through GPE records, not CRS records.
Donors differ in how they report to the GPE: some report
aid as going to recipient countries, others as aid through
the World Bank as the implementing agency, and others
through undisclosed channels, of which some are
specified by region or country.
The GPE disbursed US$524 million in 2014, of which
two-thirds, or US$349 million, was directed at low
income countries (GPE, 2015). For example, Australia
appears to have disbursed only US$7 million in aid to
basic education to low income countries in 2012–2014.
However, it also disbursed US$88 million on average per
year to the GPE over that period, of which two-thirds
was likely to have gone to low income countries (GPE,
2016). Omitting this growing financing flow risks biasing
conclusions about aid targeting. Hence, it is important
for the CRS to include the GPE as a reporting entity.
Monitoring other trends in aid to education
When figures for official development assistance (ODA)
are reported, the impression is often given that aid is
a single transfer of resources to developing countries.
In practice, it is diverse, using a range of forms, modes,
instruments and channels. One trend worth monitoring
relates to types of aid: loans are growing in relation to
grants. Another involves aid channels, namely the extent
to which aid passes through governments.
Type of aid: grants and loans. Grants made up 83% of total
aid to education in 2014, a larger share than that of all aid
across sectors (74%). Low income countries receive
84% of their total aid, as well as their total aid to
education, in the form of grants, with the largest
recipients being Ethiopia, Mozambique and Nepal
(Figure 20.10). By contrast, lower middle income
countries traditionally receive a larger proportion of
their education aid in the form of loans.
Between 2007 and 2014, within total ODA flows
from OECD-DAC members, loans increased by
122% while grants grew by 21%. It will be important to
FIGURE 20.9:
There are differences in the focus on low income countries across
donors and over time
Ratio of donor share of total aid to education to low income countries over donor
share of total aid to education to all countries, top ten donors, 2002–2004,
2008–2010 and 2012–2014
Donor share of total aid to education to low income countries/
Donors share of total aid to education
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Canada
2002–2004 2008–2010 2012–2014
In the period 2012–2014, the United Kingdom accounted
for 17% of total aid to education to low income countries
and 10% of total aid to education
United Kingdom
World Bank
United States
Other
Japan
EU institutions
France
Germany
Netherlands
Australia
track loan agreements per country and lender, including
by non-OECD donors, to monitor implications of this
trend. There is a risk that increasing borrowing could
begin to crowd out spending on education and other
social sectors.
Channels of aid: through or bypassing government. In low
income, fragile and conflict-affected countries, donors
often bypass government aid disbursement systems,
partly as a result of concerns over capacity. Out of
total aid, 66% was delivered through government in
lower middle income countries in 2014, compared with
52% in low income countries, where NGOs, civil society
organizations and multilateral agencies are a more
common delivery channel (36%).
More priority to low
income countries
Less priority to low
income countries
Note: The top ten donors are defined on the basis of their total aid to education disbursements
in 2002–2014.
Source: GEM Report team analysis based on information in the OECD CRS database.
2016 • GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 355