Most African governments are not meeting global and regional targets for education funding, according to Human Rights Watch. On the African Union’s Day of the African Child, the organization highlighted that only one-third of African countries met education funding benchmarks from 2013 to 2023, with a decline to one quarter by 2022 and 2023. Fourteen countries did not meet any benchmarks in the past decade.
Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, stated: “African heads of state and governments and the African Union have all made bold commitments for national investment in education. But governments are not translating those commitments into sustained funding, and many have actually reduced spending levels in recent years.”
The lack of sufficient public spending on education impacts governments’ ability to provide free and compulsory quality primary education and accessible secondary education. This also affects their political commitments to AU and international development goals. Under UN Sustainable Development Goals, African governments are required to ensure all children complete free secondary education by 2030.
In 2015, UNESCO member states agreed to increase education spending to at least 4-6% of GDP or 15-20% of total public expenditure. These benchmarks were included in several declarations such as the Incheon Declaration, Kenyatta Declaration on Education Financing, Paris Declaration, Global Call for Investing in the Futures of Education, Fortaleza Declaration, and Nouakchott Declaration.
Despite these commitments, many governments have failed to remove tuition fees at pre-primary and secondary levels. Families bear a significant burden by covering 27% of total education spending according to World Bank data from 2021.
Africa has over 100 million out-of-school children across sub-regions except North Africa. Out-of-school rates have increased since 2015 due to factors like population growth, gender gaps, Covid-19 school closures, climate emergencies, and conflicts.
Human Rights Watch found Morocco (excluding Western Sahara), Namibia, and Sierra Leone legally guarantee universally free access to primary and secondary education as well as at least one year of free pre-primary education while meeting international funding benchmarks.
Fifteen countries spend more on debt servicing than on education which leads to cuts in teachers’ incomes and shortages in learning materials. Creditor governments should consider debt restructuring or relief.
Sierra Leone co-leads an initiative at the UN Human Rights Council for a new protocol recognizing every child’s right to early childhood care and guaranteeing public pre-primary and secondary education availability. Botswana, Burundi, Gambia, Ghana, Malawi, South Africa, and South Sudan support this process.
Segun urged: “African governments should urgently fulfill their pledges to guarantee universal access to free quality primary and secondary education. Governments should focus on protecting public spending for education from regressive measures and cuts.”
