One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is universal primary education (UPE) by 2015. How is public spending helping to achieve this aim? A survey of recent literature and performance data by the UK's Overseas Development Institute shows that other economic and social factors play a major role. Simply spending more on education will not be enough.

Progress towards UPE continues slowly, but has stopped in some least developed countries. High levels of repetition and attendance by over-aged children distort enrolment rates. Many children still drop out or never go to school. Population ageing makes UPE easier to achieve. But there is a backlog of over-aged but unschooled children.

Economic evidence on the benefit of education is mixed, showing returns at the individual level, but limited impact on overall economic growth. Other findings of the survey include:

• Developing countries’ expenditure on education, relative to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has increased slowly and erratically since 1970. Spending varies widely between countries and bears no strong relationship to primary enrolment and completion rates.
• Quality and efficiency are low in school systems serving poorer people. Low standards and the effects of poverty on demand are the greatest threats to achieving the UPE by 2015.
• Most countries outside Africa could, with some extra funding for primary education, create enough capacity to reach the target.
• In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is reducing the supply of education (numbers of teachers) more than the demand for schooling (numbers of children).

At the national level, strategies to increase primary enrolment include:

• committing more resources to primary education, by increasing public expenditure where it is low as a share of GDP and/or by redirecting it to the primary sector
• reducing waste and excessive costs to increase the efficiency of school systems
• improving the quality of education, including the training and motivation of teachers and the provision of learning materials
• reducing, for poor people, the private costs of sending children to school.

Donors also have an important role to play. They agree broadly about objectives and strategy. International support focuses on mobilising extra resources for the neediest countries and supporting budget reforms. Sector-wide approaches (SWAps) have introduced performance-based planning, budgeting and management. But donors may need to maintain some sector-level involvement to ensure long-term sustainability.

The study concludes that donors should:

• support poverty reduction strategies in partner countries with flexible aid tools
• use local expenditure management procedures
• support capacity-building and lesson-learning, particularly at the sector level
• engage in national and sectoral dialogue and follow up on strategies, implementation and performance
• try to understand the specific conditions in each country and assess the value of sector and national strategies and institutions
• work with other development partners to build a performance culture among programme managers and service providers.

Source(s):
‘Poverty reduction outcomes in education and health: public expenditure and aid’ ODI Working Paper 210, by John Roberts 2003 Full document.

Funded by: UK Department for International Development (DFID)

id21 Research Highlight: 7 April 2004

Further Information:
John Roberts
Centre for Aid and Public Expenditure
Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road
London
SE1 7JD
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 0300
Fax: +44 (0)20 7922 0399
Contact the contributor: j.roberts@odi.org.uk

Centre for Aid and Public Expenditure (CAPE), ODI, UK

Other related links:
'Probing the public purse – the role of public funds in reducing child mortality'

'Aid, public expenditure and Millennium Development Goals: is collaboration possible?'

'The missing 65 million: getting girls into school'

'Meeting education development goals: simply a question of money?'

'Two years after Dakar: on the road to EFA?'