In an open letter published today, thirty five organizations and governments working to advance education in lower income and fragile countries, called on the Government of Indonesia to prioritize financing education as part of its G20 presidency.
The signatories include Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Honduras and Uzbekistan, as well as the Global Partnership for Education, Education Cannot Wait, UNAIDS, UNGEI, CONFEMEN, Safe to Learn, IPNE, and Asia Pacific Working Group on Adolescent Girls.
Others are Save the Children, ASPBAE, Malala Fund, Oxfam, VSO, Plan International, World Vision, GCE, ANCEFA, CLADE, IPPF, ActionAid, ACRPC, Right to Education, Send my Friend to School, EAA, Amplify Girls, FAWE, ONE, Youth Lead, CEI,
Signatories are concerned that education, particularly for girls, could be overlooked as a key solution to achieving the G20’s ambition of creating an inclusive and sustainable foundation for growth in the wake of COVID-19.
Ahead of the G20 Finance Minister’s meeting to be held on 12 October, the letter calls on leaders to make an explicit reference to prioritizing, protecting, and increasing education financing in the G20 Leaders’ Declaration. The letter also calls on governments to leverage more and better domestic financing for education – the most significant and sustainable form of education funding.
The impact of COVID-19 continues to profoundly disrupt education for millions of children around the world, widening the gap between how wealthier and poorer children learn. With national budgets already reeling from the pandemic and shifting priorities in donor and partner countries alike, education spending risks being squeezed further, with potentially disastrous consequences.
G20 governments have made substantial contributions towards education and should continue to step up support to ensure that millions of vulnerable children in lower-income countries can access a full 12 years of quality education.
