FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alexandra Humme at ahumme@globalpartnership.org
Addis Ababa – November 19, 2013. Today the Board of Directors of the Global Partnership for Education approved US$549 million in grants to 14 developing countries, providing critical funding and momentum toward quality education for all children. This new financing strongly reflects the Global Partnership's top priorities: increasing access to basic education in fragile states, improving the quality of education, improving teachers' effectiveness, generating measurable results and championing girls' education.
"At a time when we face an education crisis with 57 million children still not in primary school and aid to education declining faster than any other sector, the Global Partnership is proud to help these countries and millions of children," said Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer at the Global Partnership. "All children should have access to a school, have effective teachers, and be able to learn so they can contribute to the development of their community and nation," she said.
The Board of Directors also confirmed that the Global Partnership for Education's next replenishment pledging conference will be held in Brussels on June 26, 2014. European Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs recently announced that the European Union will host the replenishment conference.
Along with the approval of US$482 million earlier this year, the Board of the Global Partnership has approved a record amount of over US$1 billion in education grants to 27 countries in 2013. Yet, the demand for education funding, which the Global Partnership receives from its low-income partner countries, far exceeds this amount, showing these countries' strong commitment to education. At the same time, external aid commitments to basic education dropped by 16% between 2010 and 2011.
"The need for additional financing is very clear and the Global Partnership is committed to mobilizing new funds so we can continue to help our 59 developing country partners improve education for the children in their countries," Albright added.
The 14 new grants build on prior achievements and will help implement the national education plans developed by Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kyrgyz Republic, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda.
Cambodia will receive a grant of US$38.5 million to improve access to and quality of basic education, in particular by expanding access to early childhood education and for disadvantaged children.
Cameroon's grant of US$53.3 million will focus on improving education service delivery in the early grades by supporting the conversion of community-paid teachers to contract teachers. It will also help to provide teaching and learning materials to schools, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
The Central African Republic will receive a grant of US$3.69 million through GPE's accelerated funding process to address urgent education needs in this conflict-affected country. The focus will be on restarting the national education system through repairing and equipping schools and supporting community-funded teachers, which will reduce parents' contributions.
Djibouti will receive a grant of US$3.8 million to construct and rehabilitate classrooms, improve early childhood development, early grade math, teacher training and student assessment.
Eritrea's grant of US$25.3 million will help children from disadvantaged communities gain access to school to receive and complete a quality education. The grant will focus on increased equitable access to basic education, improving the quality of teaching and learning, and strengthening the management and monitoring capacity of the Education Ministry.
Ethiopia will receive a grant of US$100 million to support the second phase of its General Education Quality Improvement Program (GEQIP). GEQIP includes key measures to improve the quality of basic education through curriculum reform, textbooks, learning assessment, teacher development, school improvement, capacity building, and the use of information and communication technology.
The Gambia will receive a grant of US$6.9 million to improve the quality of teaching and learning in primary schools, build new schools and strengthen the governance and management of the country's education system.
The Kyrgyz Republic will receive a grant of US$12.7 million focusing on increasing equitable access to pre-school education and improving the quality of learning. The funding will be nationwide and specifically target areas with vulnerable populations.
Niger's grant of US$84.2 million will help increase access to basic education in an equitable way and reduce the cost of school attendance to families. It will also focus on girls' education, school feeding interventions, and will help improve the quality of teaching and learning with a stronger focus on literacy and numeracy.
Sao Tome and Principe will receive a grant of US$1.1 million to improve teaching practices in primary schools through a new system of teacher training and the development of a system to assess student learning.
Sierra Leone will receive a grant of US$17.9 million to improve learning outcomes through results-based school grants and pilots for early childhood education. The funding will also strengthen education service delivery through improved teacher management, better measurement of learning outcomes and consistent school data collection.
Somalia's grant of US$6.8 million will support the training of 1,000 newly recruited teachers in South Central Somalia, develop a system for teacher salary payments and provide incentive payments for teachers with particularly low salaries.
Tanzania's grant of US$94.8 million will help improve literacy and numeracy in basic education, support non-formal basic education, early childhood development, and strengthen education coordination, planning and management.
Uganda will receive a grant of US$100 million to improve teacher and school effectiveness in the public primary education system, specifically with a focus on new approaches for early reading and numeracy and improved school facilities and accountability.