Framing Paper 2 Blog Post – Financing for All: Beyond the Primary Need

By Janice Dolan and Laura Brannelly, CfBT Education Trust

To download the full paper, please visit: www.ineesite.org/roundtable2010

Financing beyond the primary need

The needs of young people in the aftermath of conflict or crisis are vast, and failure to recognize these has been linked with prolonged instability. Many young people in these situations have had limited access to education or never had the opportunity to go to school. Yet these young people are central to reconstruction and recovery of their countries. There is a need to revisit investment in education opportunities for young people affected by conflict or crisis and ensure a focus beyond primary to also meet the needs of this section of the population.

Not only is access to basic education a right, but it is also a commitment made by governments and donors at Dakar to ensure that the learning needs of young people and adults are met (the third Education for All goal). Yet this goal was described in the latest Global Monitoring Report as “the subject of silent neglect.” Analysis undertaken for the INEE policy Roundtable on education for youth affected by crisis has revealed that investments made by governments and donors are disproportionate to the educational needs of young people needs as well as to the potential benefits.

The rationale for providing education for youth in these challenging contexts extends beyond international commitments. Evidence reviewed for the policy roundtable suggests that unequal access to education opportunities is associated with deepening social and economic disparities, fragility and the risk of conflict; and that access to secondary education in particular plays a critical role in reducing the likelihood and duration of conflict and fragility.

Financing for education can come from a number of sources – governments, bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations, non-governmental organizations and community contributions amongst others. However, there has been limited investment for education opportunities for youth – for example governments in conflict-affected fragile states (CAFS) are on average investing less in secondary education (24%) as a share of the education budget when compared to other low-income countries (30%).

Whilst donors have made progress in recent years to increase aid for education in countries affected by conflict and crisis, this support has typically lagged behind that provided to other low-income countries. In addition, much of the focus of this aid has been on primary education, linked with commitments to achieve universal primary education. Evidence presented in the second framing paper for the roundtable reveals that donors are investing less aid in basic skills, secondary education and vocational education in conflict-affected states ($618m) than in other low-income countries ($963m); and funding to post-primary education ($618m) is at lower levels that aid to primary and tertiary education ($1056m and $766m respectively). This is despite the numbers of youth who have missed out on their education due to crisis and the critical role that education at this level plays in long-term stability.

There are a number of challenges and opportunities relating to the financing of post-primary education. It clear that there is a need for investment across all education sectors in line with need, yet in situations of limited resources where more investment is always needed how do we balance priorities and ensure that the needs of one group are not neglected? It is vital to recognize the important role that youth contribute in post-crisis recovery in national policy, plans and donor strategies. Alongside this we need to explore innovative ways to finance post-primary education and seek to engage with new actors (foundations and businesses) in supporting youth education initiatives.

We need to ensure success in the educational opportunities we provide for young people in the aftermath of crisis. Enabling them to access meaningful learning experiences that help them progress to further levels of education or employment. In line with this, we also need to demonstrate the value for money of these investments and highlight the costs of failing to invest in our young people.

Further recommendations and analysis can be found in the framing paper “Financing for All: Beyond the Primary Need” prepared for the INEE 2010 policy roundtable.