The importance of investments and capacity building for education is recognized in the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda further stresses the role of the global partnership to support country-driven priorities and strategies, and emphasizes the importance of international development cooperation and partnerships in the education sector in particular.
The Addis Agenda specifically:
- Commits to scale up investments and international cooperation to allow all children to complete free, equitable, inclusive and quality early childhood, primary and secondary education
- Commits to scale up and strengthen (of partnership initiatives in education), such as the Global Partnership for Education
- Commits to upgrading education facilities, acknowledging the importance of providing safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all; Commits to increasing the percentage of qualified teachers in developing countries
Update from the 2019 Financing for Sustainable Development Report
Official development assistance for education received by developing countries from bilateral and multilateral donors has plateaued since 2009 at about $11 billion to $13 billion per year in constant 2016 dollars, after having doubled in the early 2000s. The share allocated to least developed countries (LDCs) fell from a peak of 47 per cent in 2004 to 34 per cent in 2016. There are several global mechanisms that support education. In 2017, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) (established in 2002) disbursed $497 million, with $351 million going to LDCs and other low-income countries. In 2018, pledges worth $2.3 billion were made to replenish the fund for 2018–2020. However, this was below the replenishment target of $3.1 billion, which could jeopardize GPE plans to expand its activities to more partner countries.
Relevant SDG indicator
- 4.a.1 Proportion of schools with access to: (a) electricity; (b) the Internet for pedagogical purposes; (c) computers for pedagogical purposes; (d) adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities; (e) basic drinking water; (f) single-sex basic sanitation facilities; and (g) basic handwashing facilities (as per the WASH indicator definitions)
- 4.c.1 Proportion of teachers in: (a) pre-primary; (b) primary; (c) lower secondary; and (d) upper secondary education who have received at least the minimum organized teacher training (e.g. pedagogical training) pre-service or in-service required for teaching at the relevant level in a given country