Results
Report
2023
The Results Report 2023 presents progress against the GPE 2025 strategy.
It highlights the work of the partnership in 2021 through the latest data available.
The Results Report 2023 discusses progress toward achieving the goal and objectives set out in the GPE 2025 strategy, using data collected by the GPE Secretariat, the Global Education Monitoring Report and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Globally, education remains in acute crisis following the strong impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as various conflicts and natural disasters. Against this difficult backdrop, the programs financed by GPE grants have performed well, helping to accelerate recovery and supporting partner countries' education systems.
Since 2021, GPE has reached 227 million children in 68 partner countries with active grants.
More children are in school
6 out of 10 young children have access to pre-primary education in partner countries, preparing them to learn in later years.
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (database)
More than 8 out of 10 children are completing primary school and 6 out of 10 children complete lower-secondary school in partner countries.
The primary completion rates are slightly above national targets, while the lower-secondary completion rates are below national targets.
Source: Global Education Monitoring Report analysis based on UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) data..
Note: Targets for 2025 are estimated on the basis of the level of effort expected to reach the completion rate targets.
If rates of out-of-school children have improved, this was not sufficient to keep up with the population growth, leading to an increasing number of out-of-school children: 154 million in 2020 compared to 148 million in 2015.
In 2021, 16% of primary age children were out of school, down from 22% in 2015; and 20% of adolescents of lower secondary age were not in school, down from 25% in 2015.
Learning continues to be an issue...
Learning indicators still reflect the severe disruption inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic: In 2021, on average, 20% of students achieved a minimum proficiency level in mathematics by the end of primary school, while less than half reached minimum proficiency in reading across 23 of 24 countries with available data.
Limited availability of learning data continues to prevent proper monitoring of learning outcomes.
... But partner countries prioritize teaching and learning
More primary school students have access to trained teachers: 81% of primary teachers are trained according to national standards. There is a challenge with teacher training at the lower secondary level, with 71% of teachers trained according to national standards.
Teaching and learning is the main focus of GPE active grants and future grants will most likely continue this focus, considering that several countries have chosen teaching and learning as their priority in the partnership compacts.
At the current pace, partner countries will meet their target at the primary level but are off track for all other levels.
Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications, by level, 2015–21, and 2025 target
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (database).
Transforming systems takes all-around commitment
Transforming education systems requires that all education stakeholders join their efforts behind the partner countries’ priorities.
GPE 2025 incentivizes countries to carry out a thorough analysis of the sector and its environment, and to select a priority reform that can catalyze change throughout the sector. Since 2021, 33 countries prepared partnership compacts, the roadmap to their education system transformation.
Local education groups in partner countries are inclusive, with 96% including civil society representatives and 65% including teacher representatives.
Representation of teachers and CSOs in local education groups
Source: GPE Secretariat data, calendar years 2020–22.
Research and knowledge supported through KIX has been taken up 116 times in policy development in 70 partner countries since 2021, in areas like gender, equity and social inclusion.
Civil society support through Education Out Loud reached 37 countries since 2021, helping to influence policy dialogue, planning and accountability.
Initiatives piloted over the past year in seven countries to reinforce national government capacity in the areas of monitoring, evaluation and learning, climate-smart education systems and education data leadership are all on track to meet their objectives.
GPE 2025 innovative financing mechanisms are leveraging $1.7 billion in co-financing as of June 2023, and $2 billion as of November 2023.
In FY23, GPE had 84 active implementation grants valued at $2.5 billion. With this support, countries distributed 48 million textbooks, trained 481,000 teachers and built or renovated close to 6,700 classrooms.
But the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises is still felt on education budgets, with 60% of partner countries dedicating 20% of their budget to education.
Progress on gender equality
Through the Girls' Education Accelerator, GPE has committed $140 million to 8 countries to support gender equality. Close to 80% of active grants in FY23 mainstreamed gender equality in 1 or more activities.