The Nickels and Dimes of Education for All: The expansion of primary education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sustainable learning can only be achieved if financial resources available for education are used strategically and efficiently. Our research shows that the global landscape in education finance is changing, with many... [ view full abstract ]

Sustainable learning can only be achieved if financial resources available for education are used strategically and efficiently. Our research shows that the global landscape in education finance is changing, with many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa increasingly able to generate revenue to boost government spending on education and reduce dependency on foreign aid.

Our analysis shows that low income countries in the region have made remarkable progress in the past decade in increasing access to primary education. The expansion of the education system is reflected in domestic education budget allocations which have consistently grown in the past decade in most of the countries. Despite these achievements, universal primary completion is still out of reach as repetition and dropout remain to be major barriers to Education for All. Furthermore, many children who stay in school never gain basic reading skills.

Using our High-level Interactive Projections for Education (HIPE) model, we forecast future enrollment and government spending on education to show that many countries can be expected to generate sufficient resources to cover the cost of projected enrollment in the next decade. However, per student allocation continues to be vastly inadequate and does not allow countries make sufficient investments into the quality of education. Our analysis discusses opportunities that governments in Sub-Saharan Africa will have to increase per pupil spending and allocate more resources into improving the quality of education and learning outcomes; as well as the role of international assistance in helping to harness domestic finance and direct it towards quality improvements.