Do we stand by it? Africa!

 We are glad that African counties attended the Global Partnership for Education meeting which was held on 21^st May, 2015 in Korea. This was a great meeting because of the commitments the partner countries held themselves to. Mostly, we are cheered by the recognition of children with disabilities in the commitments. Many African counties were represented at the meeting. These commitments are made at a time when the world is developing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) – post-2015 development framework. Financing towards education is critical if the SDG indicators are to be met. African countries have a tendency of committing themselves to a lot of international protocols and statements but do nothing to financially support their commitments. Education is key for development. Without education, coupled with ICT, development will be a non-starter in Africa. It should be noted that when we talk about education in this era of globalization and inclusive development, we are talking about inclusive education. Inclusive education is about equal education for all regardless of social or economic status, gender, religion, disability, ethinicism, race or any other condition or status.

Children with disabilities are key in achieving quality education. It is therefore important that African governments allocate and disburse adequate finances towards quality education for children with disabilities. Such finances should go towards appropriate teaching and learning materials; ICT for inclusion; accessible infrastructure development; teacher training; curriculum development and awareness creation. Awareness creation should never be ignored in as far as implementing inclusive education because the right and correct messages must be sent out to the communities about this new phenomenon in Africa.

Financing inclusive education can only be effective when there are clear policies and strategies to guide the financing and implementation. Clear monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of inclusive education should also occur and this should include active participation of the communities and parents. Policies and strategies must be explicit in the way they address inclusive education as a transformative process that aims at including everyone in the implementation and monitoring of the education sector. Parents of children with disabilities and their children should play a critical role in this transformative process. So, African governments should be seen to lead the journey into the post-2015 SDGs.

Remember: children with disabilities are usually the first to be forgotten and the last to be remembered. Let us make them the first to be remembered and last to be forgotten.

Ministerial Statement on Education Financing

May 21, 2015

1.            We, Ministers of Education from countries that have held office in the Global Partnership for Education, met on 21 May 2015 in Incheon, Korea. The meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Julia Gillard, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Global Partnership for Education, and H.E. Serigne Mbaye Thiam, Minister of Education from Senegal and Chair of the Governance, Ethics, Risk and Finance Committee of the Global Partnership for Education. 

2.            We assembled under the theme of “Education Financing for the Future” at the margins of the World Education Forum at an important moment for education around the world, and in our countries. We express our appreciation for the important support that the Global Partnership for Education has provided to our national education efforts, and to the help of donors provided through the Global Partnership for Education since its establishment in 2002. 

3.            As members of the Global Partnership for Education, we are committed to taking concrete steps and joint actions to deliver a better quality education for all of our populations, including the most marginalized and vulnerable.

4.            We note that the global community is increasingly recognizing the benefits of investing in education and is likely to endorse an ambitious education Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda, including universal access to primary and secondary school. Lifting ambition means at least an additional US$39 billion per year will be needed from all external funding sources in order to provide the financing required to achieve these goals. 

5.            We are committed to increasing our domestic financing significantly in order to achieve equitable and inclusive quality education for all, as evidenced by the outcome of the Global Partnership for Education Replenishment Conference held in June 2014 in Brussels, hosted by the European Union, where partner developing countries committed to increase education financing by US$26 billion over four years.

6.            However we believe that the total resource gap cannot be closed without dramatically increased efforts in external financing for education and we are deeply concerned that the Global Partnership for Education Fund target of US$3.5 billion over four years has not been met. The Global Partnership for Education is key to mobilizing global and national efforts to achieve quality education for all children, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable, through inclusive partnership, financing and a focus on effective education systems.

7.            We welcome the ambition contained in the political declaration of the World Education Forum, and the call for increased global efforts to ensure that the education Sustainable Development Goals are achieved.

8.            We further welcome the language contained in the proposed Outcome Document of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, which will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in July 2015. It recognizes the importance of delivering quality education to all children, including in situations of conflict and fragility, and which calls for the Global Partnership for Education to be strengthened and scaled up to ensure that all girls and boys, including children with disabilities, complete free, equitable and quality early childhood, primary and secondary education leading to the relevant and effective learning outcomes. 

9.            We call on all governments to support an ambitious Financing for Sustainable Development Agenda for Education. We furthermore call on the international community to increase significantly its ambition and financial support for the Global Partnership for Education.