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World Bank announces Education Package |
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 The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) and other groups today gave a cautious welcome to the $750 mn education pledge made by the World Bank and urged rich countries meeting in New York to follow suit and keep their promises on education which have largely been forgotten.
Kailash Satyarthi, President of GCE said:“This is a welcome change from the World Bank and we hope it ushers in a new era of financing education and directing in to where the need is greatest. Donors must now make good on their commitments which for so many have fallen by the wayside. Poor countries’ education funding is being cut and they urgently need support to ensure that every child can go to school.”
GCE called on the World Bank to ensure that most of the spend goes to FTI endorsed countries in Africa and urged them to deliver this package over a three year period.
The announcement by World Bank by Managing Director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was made at a GCE and EFA FTI Education Event which was hosted by Queen Rania and saw speeches by Gordon Brown who is on GCE’s High Level Panel, Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd and Britain’s Development Minister Andrew Mitchell amongst others.
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A new report from GCE today revealed that sixty nine million children are out of school and many donors, such as France and Germany, misuse their education aid budgets to underwrite their own University system. Poor countries are facing cuts of as much as $4.6 billion to their education budgets and showed that Somalia was the worst place in the world to be school child.
Carol Bellamy, Chair of the EFA FTI Board of Directors:
“The World Bank financing is a welcome development which will help to put the remaining 69 million school out-of-school children into the classroom. I am also pleased that these funds will be directed in priority towards countries supported by the EFA FTI as these countries already have sound education strategies in place. Quick and effective use of funds is critical. There is no time to waste in our goal to achieve Education for All before 2015.”
Joanne Carter, Co-Chair of GCE US and Results said:
“This is a very welcome correction in course, and these new resources could have a real impact if delivered in a smart way. However, its vital that the Bank's education funding be dispersed over 3 years, and not 5 as the Bank has suggested--and it must maintain this higher level of funding for basic education over the next decade. We still have a long way to go to get every child in school, learning, and new resources are a key first step.”
Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive of Save the Children International said:
“This is a significant step towards achieving our goal, one which couldn’t have happened without the millions of people who pledged their support. However, there is much more to be done and this should be a wake-up call to all major donors to step up their commitments so we can make education a reality for every child, especially for those in countries affected by conflict and emergencies.”
Clare Godfrey, Senior Policy Adviser for Oxfam said:
“This is a welcome contribution from the World Bank, but a drop in the ocean in terms of what's needed to get basic education for all children. Other donors are going to have to up their game on education, and on all of the MDGs that need an urgent injection of political capital and hard cash right now. Donor governments must stick to their aid promises, and agree a tax on the financial sector to raise billions for tackling poverty and climate change, that can get more kids into school and get the MDGs back on track for 2015."
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