‘65% low, lower-middle income nations cut education budgets’

“In order to understand the short-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education budgets, information was collected for a sample of 29 countries across all regions. The sample represents about 54 per cent of the world’s school and university aged population,” it said.

Following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, education budgets were cut by 65 per cent of low and lower-middle income countries while 33 per cent of high and upper-middle income nations did so, according to a World Bank report. Compiled in collaboration with UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report, it said current levels of government spending in low and lower-middle income nations fall short of those needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

“In order to understand the short-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education budgets, information was collected for a sample of 29 countries across all regions. The sample represents about 54 per cent of the world’s school and university aged population,” it said.

“Responding to the Covid-19 crisis requires additional spending to adapt schools for compliance with the necessary measures to control contagion and to fund programs to make up for the losses in learning students experienced while schools were closed.”

The sample includes three low-income countries (Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Uganda); 14 lower-middle income countries (Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uzbekistan); 10 upper-middle income nations (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Jordan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Turkey); and two high-income countries (Chile, Panama).

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