Business Daily (Nairobi)
Mwaura Kimani
23 April 2008
As the Government banks on at least five billion shillings in donor funding for the education sector in the coming financial year, a UN agency is warning of stagnating aid commitments to developing countries.
Despite promises to support basic education, aid commitments are faltering, raising an urgent need for countries to fund education projects from internal sources, says Unesco.
The Unesco's Education for All Global Monitoring 2008 Report says such support remains far short of what is required to achieve universal primary education in most developing countries.
Faced with a huge education budget, the Government has said it is relying on development partners to provide grants and loans totalling Sh5.4 billion - about four per cent of the total education budget - to top up the kitty in the next financial year.
According to Treasury estimates contained in the Education Sector Report 2008, resource requirements for the education sector could rise from Sh119 billion this year to Sh152 billion in the next financial year.
The bulk of the money is earmarked for financing the free primary education and the new subsidised secondary schooling plan.
The FPE plan introduced in 2003 has consumed Sh40.5 billion, although the bulk is from internal sources. The plan has pushed enrolment in public primary schools to 7.6 million from 5.9 in five years.
Another 300,000 children are enrolled in non-formal schools.
"Aid to basic education has only increased at the same rate as total aid, reflecting the fact that most donors have not assigned a higher priority to basic education in their overall aid package," said Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, the Director-General of Unesco.
Education analysts said the Government must always keep the level of foreign aid towards education at the minimum, to ensure the gains made are not reversed as it focuses on quality and access.
In a bulletin, Institute of Policy Research and Analysis (IPAR), a local think-tank, reckons teaching and learning environments in schools can still be improved with scarce resources if the Government used sound management.
Figures released this month by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) show that total official development assistance dropped by 8.4 per cent in 2007, resulting in a further reduction in aid to basic education.
"We are encouraged that aid to basic education increased in 2006 over 2005 but still concerned because there has been a general slow down in how much donors are committing to education. This could carry serious consequences for educational progress in low-income countries," said Mr Matsuura
"These countries need enough aid and predictable aid to support the rapid expansion of their education systems."
According to the UN body, in total, aid to basic education globally amounted to $5 billion in 2006, up from $3.7 billion in 2005 but below $5.3 billion committed in 2004.
Bilateral aid to basic education increased from $2.7 billion in 2005 to $3.9 billion in 2006.
Commitments from multilateral agencies to basic education remained constant at $1.1 billion.
The report estimates $11 billion a year is needed to achieve education for all in poor countries.
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