TRANSFORMING EDUCATION FINANCING IN AFRICA - A Strategic Agenda for the African

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FEBRUARY 2024 TRANSFORMING EDUCATION FINANCING IN AFRICA A Strategic Agenda for the African Union Year of Education The African Union (AU) Year of Education in 2024 could make decisive breakthroughs to transform education systems if there is coordinated national and Pan-African action on the key forces that impact education financing: tax, debt, and austerity. [...] Despite these already low levels of spending on the public sector workforce, 20 countries have seen active declines in their spending on public sector workers as a % of GDP in the past five years, while at the same time additional staff in the education sector are needed for countries to fulfil the right to education 72%: spending under the for the growing population. [...] Over the years the dominant focus in domestic education spending has been on the share of the budget – seeking to reach at least 20% share of the national budget or 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) allocated to education. [...] In short it is important to address the 4S framework: increasing the share, size, sensitivity and scrutiny of education budgets – as agreed by Africa Union Ministers of Education in the 2018 Nairobi Declaration and call for action on education and as spelt out in the Transforming Education Financing Toolkit. [...] In the African Union Year of Education, while we continue to urge action to increase the share of budgets spent on education and for these resources to be raised and utilised in ways that address educational inequalities, as a matter of urgency we call for joined up action with Ministers of Finance and Heads of State to take action on tax, debt and austerity – the key areas of policy choices that.