Last year world leaders convened in London for the Global Education Summit where an unprecedented set of commitments - to prioritize, protect and increase the volume of domestic education financing and improve its equity and efficiency - were made.
19 Heads of State and Government endorsed the Heads of state call to action on education finance with its focus on domestic public expenditure (domestic financing) - they committed to work towards spending at least 20% of national budgets on education over the next 5 years - which translates to US$196 billion for their own education systems.
Since then, an additional country - Cambodia - has also endorsed. A further 25 countries also submitted ambitious commitments to improve the volume, equity and efficiency of domestic financing.
Collectively these commitments have the potential to transform the financing of education across lower-income countries and lay the foundation for the investment in education that is required for an accelerated recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the support of the International Parliamentary Network for Education (IPNEd) - the global network of MPs working to achieve SDG 4 - parliamentarians came together to advocate for more and better education financing like never before.
Members of IPNEd crossed traditional political divides, as well as coming together regionally and globally, to offer a unified voice on the case for investing in education.
Parliamentarians now hold the keys to ensuring that the commitments made by national governments at the Global Education Summit are not only fulfilled but leveraged to supercharge the investment that is needed to fund and deliver a quality education for every child, no matter who they are or where they live.
Public finances under unprecedented pressure
Achieving SDG 4 is at risk, as domestic budgets in low and lower middle-income countries are under significant pressure – COVID’s economic and budget strains (including flatlined ODA), and high population growth.
Many countries also face additional costs of reopening schools and keeping them open safely in the face of shrinking economies, growing debt burdens, competing spending needs, inequitable allocation of resources and pockets of inefficiencies.
