(UNESCO): Despite the importance of investing in education, it suffers from chronic funding shortages
Paris, July 10 (KUNA) – UNESCO Director-General Khalid al-Anani said on Friday that despite the importance of education and its status as the strongest investment countries can make, it continues to suffer from chronic underfunding. He made these remarks during a speech at the Transforming Education Summit +4 held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, where Kuwait was represented by Minister of Education Sayed Jalal al-Tabatabai.
Al-Anani added that “estimates indicate that global aid dedicated to education will decline by up to 30 percent between 2023 and 2027, perpetuating a cycle of underinvestment, widening inequality gaps, and slowing development.” He pointed to innovative financing mechanisms such as debt-for-education swaps, but stressed that their expansion requires political will.
He clarified that four years after the Transforming Education Summit convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterinho, which brought together education leaders from around the world to discuss solutions to the global education financing crisis, UNESCO continues to monitor the situation.
For her part, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed stated that “the current summit builds on progress made since its launch in 2022 and focuses on two main pillars: accelerating efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, and shaping the global education agenda beyond 2030.” She emphasized that 2030 represents a critical milestone, not the end of the road, and that education will remain fundamental to achieving all Sustainable Development Goals.
A new forecast report issued by UNESCO indicated that global education aid will fall by up to 30 percent between 2023 and 2027. Low-income countries and lower-middle-income countries have already lost more than 21 percent of their 2023 funding rates, with declines exceeding 40 percent in some countries, including Afghanistan, Liberia, Mali, and Niger.
The report noted a decline in the priority of education within development assistance, with its share dropping to 7.5 percent in 2024, the lowest level in two decades. It also highlighted that in 2025, the world spent approximately 37 hours’ worth of military expenditure equivalent to the total annual aid dedicated to education.
UNESCO estimated the annual education financing gap in low-income and lower-middle-income countries at around $97 billion, warning that it is widening due to rising debt burdens. It noted that 113 countries, home to approximately 1.6 billion people, spend more on debt servicing than on education.
The report added that debt payments in low-income countries amount to roughly four times education spending, while in 18 of the most indebted countries, government spending on education is less than one-fifth of debt service costs. It warned that cutting education spending is a short-sighted measure, given education’s role as a driver of economic growth and long-term revenue generation. (End) M.B. / A.M.S.
