Save the Children welcomes Canada’s announcement to double funding for the Global Partnership for Education

Save the Children welcomes the recent announcement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about Canadian government intention to double its contribution to the Global Partnership for Education to $180M CAD. GPE enters its crucial Financing Conference in Dakar, Senegal, this week, where it is hoping the governments and donors will renew their funding commitments and this announcement shows an important leadership sign from Canada. Save the Children is part of the Canadian International Education Policy Working Group, a coalition of organizations, which has long advocated for an increased education funding and GPE from Canada, and we are also working internationally to call for other governments to follow suit.

Education is a vital source of development, safety and opportunity for millions of children living in poverty, conflict and crises around the world, particularly for girls. Yet despite progress over the 1990s and early 2000s over 62 million girls and adolescents are out of school, and with the proliferation of conflict and crisis around the world, girls are particularly likely to lose out on their right to education. International and local support for education is still well below required levels, with only 6% of international development funding dedicated to education, compared to the recommended 15%.

The commitment to GPE from Canada is a step in the right direction and we hope this signals revitalized effort to support girls’ education where it is most needed. There is so much the Canadian government and organizations can achieve by working together:

• Within education, GPE is an important multi-lateral platform which supports governments’ national education policies and planning, but now it is also vital to increase funding for civil society organizations to reach the most marginalized girls caught in crisis where governments are not always willing or able to respond.
• With the current international political landscape, Canada’s leadership in diplomacy and influence is powerful. We hope Canada will continue to encourage other governments to follow suit in increasing support for domestic and international education financing.
• Governments in developing countries need to increase tax revenue so they can better fund education themselves in the long term. One concrete way Canada and OECD countries can support this is by working to close loopholes which allow international corporations to avoid an estimated $100-200 billion in taxes in lower income countries each year. If 20% of this funding were dedicated to education, it would pay for at least 50 million children to receive a quality primary and lower secondary education.

Quick facts and links:

• Nine million girls in Sub-Saharan Africa are out of school
• Over 20 million children are currently out-of-school in conflict affected regions
• There is also a crisis of quality, with over 250 million children estimated to leave primary school without learning basic literacy and numeracy
• On average, girls with no education are three times more likely to be married as children compared to girls with secondary schooling
• Adolescents who have completed lower-secondary education have been found to have a 50 percent lower rate of sexual health concerns than those with only a primary school education.
• For more information on international education financing, including on GPE, see our report here: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/financing-learning-every-last-child
• For our report on girls education in West and Central Africa, see here: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/promoting-girls-right-learn-west-and-central-africa

ENDS