Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC)
Global Action Week on Education 2010

Education For All: FUND IT NOW!!!

The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition is a network of Civil Society Organizations in Ghana that work to promote access to Free Quality Universal Basic Education in Ghana. With a membership of about 200 nationwide, the Coalition works to influence policies, practices and resources in favour of quality education in Ghana.

GNECC’s major annual activity is the Global Action Week on Education celebration (GAW). The Global Action Week is an initiative of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) to network with other organizations worldwide and advocate for quality education. GNECC is a member of the Global Campaign for Education and the lead agency in organizing the Global Action Week 2010 in Ghana which will take place from the 19th -25th April 2010. 

Due to the efforts of civil society organizations in education and the response of some governments in both richer and poorer countries, 40 more million children are in school since 2000. Yet these gains are at a risk of being eroded by the current economic situation. The global financial crisis poses a threat to universal education particularly when viewed against the backdrop of current trends. The 2009 EFA Global Monitoring Report estimated that 29 million children would still be out of school by 2015.Given that the financial outlook for many countries is now worsening, it is likely that this figure could even grow in future years unless action is taken now. Moreover, there are growing global inequalities in access and quality which have been precipitated by lack of financing from both domestic and external sources. Within countries, inequality also persists due to poor governance of education.

In Ghana, the current commitment of 31% of the national budget to education and 10% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) still leaves a financial gap in the education budget, which is in excess of 500 Million USD per annum.This financial gap affects Governments ability to increase teacher salaries, build the over 2,500 basic schools, expand the School Feeding Program to cover the remaining 90% of basic schools and provide adequate Teaching and Learning Materials. But this is against the background of some 500,000 out of school children in Ghana, with only five six years to reach the finishing line of the Millennium Development Agenda 2015.

Whereas it is arguable that developing economies like Ghana needs to expand to Increase the real value of 31% budgetary allocation o education and 10% GDP to education , it is also a fact that richer countries have failed to live up to their part of the Global Compact agreed in Dakar. Although aid to basic education has grown from just over $1 billion in 2000 to a high of $5 billion in 2006, it has since dropped back to a level under $3 billion per year and appears to be in decline. The Nordic countries, the Netherlands and the UK have a good record on funding basic education, but most countries, especially from within the G8, are falling far short of giving their ‘fair share’ of the $16 billion per year needed in external funds to achieve EFA. This has led to inconsistency and unfair allocation of the worlds education resources.

The difference in expenditure between high income and low income countries is also stark. To further illustrate the inconsistencies in resource allocation, consider the following: In 2006, per student spending ranged from US$39 per primary pupil in the Congo to US$9,953 in Luxembourg. Sub – Saharan Africa was home to 15% of the world’s 5 to 25 year olds but accounted for just 2% of global spending in education.

International institutions –especially the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – compound the problem. Due to the unnecessarily strict economic policy constraints imposed by the IMF as part of their loan agreements, governments are unable to raise and spend the resources needed to deliver on education goals. This is particularly problematic in the context of the financial crisis, with the IMF being cast as the first responder in the crisis by the G20 meeting in April. Ironically, whilst many richer countries are being encouraged to stimulate the economy through public spending, this same option is denied to low‐income countries.

With the Slogan: Education For All: Fund It Now, the 2010 Global Action Week on Education will put pressure on G8 countries and their leaders to fulfill their financial commitments to education in Less Developed Countries, especially to Countries like Ghana who have demonstrated commitment to Education For All. The Campaign will also call on International Financial Institutions to relax macro economic conditionalities on LDC’s to enable flexibility in responding to the effects of the financial crisis on education. We will also demand greater transparency in education spending by the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education to ensure judicious utilization of scarce education resources.

Planned activities for the Global Action Week on Education 2010 includes interface engagements with Ambassadors of G8 countries, the IMF, World Bank and other International Financial Institutions (IFI’s) on financing Education For All in Ghana. A national durbar will discuss the findings of a UNESCO commissioned research into the impact of the financial crises on education financing in Ghana and the ability of NGOs to respond to the educational needs of the marginalized and vulnerable. The outcome of the Global Action Week 2010 is expected to make an input into the architecture of education aid, especially during the G8 meeting in Canada, next June.