By Lebone Rodah Mosima
Global aid for education is projected to decline by as much as 30% between 2023 and 2027, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) warned on Friday in its Global Education Monitoring Report, released at the Transforming Education Summit (TES+4).
UNESCO said the latest research underscores a deepening funding crisis, with education aid expected to fall by 8% in 2024 compared with the previous year. Aid to basic education, including pre-school, primary and lower secondary schooling, is projected to decline by 15%.
UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany said education remains the most powerful investment countries can make, yet it continues to be systematically underfunded.
“UNESCO’s projection of the upcoming decline perpetuates a cycle of underinvestment, inequality and stalled development. Innovative financing mechanisms such as debt-for-education swaps already exist – they just need the political will to be scaled up,” he said.
The report found that low- and lower-middle-income countries have already lost more than a fifth (21%) of the education aid they received in 2023. In countries including Afghanistan, Liberia, Mali and Niger, the reduction exceeded 40%.
UNESCO said education is also receiving a shrinking share of overall development assistance.
“The report also shows that education is falling down the list of priorities, with its share in development assistance falling to 7.5% in 2024 – the lowest level in two decades,” the organisation said.
“In 2025, the world spent in just one and a half days (37 hours) on military expenditure what it allocates to education aid in an entire year.”
UNESCO estimates that low- and lower-middle-income countries face an annual education financing gap of US$97 billion (about R1.59 trillion), with the shortfall continuing to widen.
A new Debt and Education package, released at the TES+4 Summit, found that 113 countries, home to 6.1 billion people, spend more on servicing debt than on education.
“In low-income countries, debt payments are nearly four times higher than education spending, and in 18 of the most heavily indebted countries, they exceed government expenditure on education by a factor of five or more,” UNESCO said.
The organisation said education systems are particularly vulnerable to budget cuts because they account for a large share of public spending and depend heavily on recurring costs such as teachers’ salaries.
UNESCO warned that reducing education spending is ultimately counterproductive because investment in education drives economic growth and government revenue.
To help countries address the funding crisis, UNESCO launched a technical guide on debt-for-education swaps, which allow governments to convert part of their external debt into targeted investments in education.
“UNESCO’s new guide outlines when such a mechanism can be effective and provides practical tools for both debtor and creditor countries,” it said.
The organisation highlighted several examples of successful debt swaps.
In Côte d’Ivoire, a 2023 agreement with France freed up resources to build more than 30 schools in underserved communities, benefiting an estimated 30,000 learners.
In 2024, a €29 million (about R540.5 million) debt swap with Germany helped Egypt improve school feeding programmes, nutrition and access to basic services.
Between 2006 and 2017, a debt swap agreement between Spain and Peru converted US$20 million (about R326 million) of debt into 50 medium-term education projects across eight vulnerable regions, benefiting around 174,000 students, teachers and community members.
UNESCO said the package of recommendations was launched at the Transforming Education Summit+4 as part of efforts to shape the global education agenda beyond 2030.
“The Summit brought together President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, more than 30 education ministers, and representatives from development banks, civil society, youth, academia and the private sector,” the organisation said.
Mohammed said the summit had two key objectives.
“The first is acceleration: five years remain to deliver on Sustainable Development Goal 4 – inclusive, equitable, quality education for all – and the pace of the next five years will decide how much of that promise is kept,” she said.
“The second is direction: today’s discussions will help define the global education agenda beyond 2030. Because 2030 is a milestone, not a finish line, and education will remain the foundation for every Sustainable Development Goal.”
UNESCO said delegates also examined how artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies are reshaping education, with discussions focusing on ensuring AI improves learning outcomes, particularly in developing countries, without undermining human agency.
Climate change, conflict and other crises were also high on the agenda as delegates explored ways to strengthen the resilience of education systems worldwide.
