Government spending on education below Unesco’s 15% standard

The
sco eca d
co cludes
that,
o
ave age,
cou t ies
a e
“movi g
away”
f om
the
public
educatio
expe ditu e
be chma ks
of
at
least
4%
of
GDP
o
15%
of
total
public
expe ditu e.

NEW
DELHI:
I dia
emai s
just
above
U esco’s
mi imum
GDP
be chma k
fo
educatio ,
but
the
secto ‘s
sha e
i
gove me t
spe di g
has
slipped
below
the
p esc ibed
th eshold.
Educatio
accou ts
fo
4.1%
of
GDP
but
14.2%
of
total
public
expe ditu e,
dow
f om
15.7%
i
2015
a d
below
the
15%
be chma k,
U esco’s
2026
SDG
4
sco eca d
has
show .The
fu di g
pictu e
assumes
sig ifica ce
because
I dia
co ti ues
to
lag
o
seco da y
school
completio .
Its
latest
lowe
seco da y
(Classes
VI-VIII)
completio
ate
is
86%
as
agai st
its
99%
atio al
be chma k
fo
2025,
while
uppe
seco da y
(Classes
IX-XII)
completio
ate
is
51%
as
agai st
84%.
U esco
classifies
p og ess
at
both
levels
as
slow.U de
the
Educatio
2030
f amewo k,
cou t ies
committed
to
spe di g
4-6%
of
GDP
a d/o
15-20%
of
public
expe ditu e
o
educatio .
The
sco eca d
uses
the
lowe
th esholds
as
mi imum
be chma ks.
I dia
meets
o e.
Its
spe di g
o
educatio
has
emai ed
at
4.1%
of
GDP
si ce
2015,
but
its
sha e
of
public
expe ditu e
has
decli ed
1.5
pe ce tage
poi ts
to
14.2%.Amo g
majo
eme gi g
eco omies,
Chi a
too
meets
o e
be chma k,
at
4%
of
GDP
(11.9%
of
public
spe di g),
while
figu es
fo
B azil
a e
5.6%
a d
12.9%.
South
Af ica
meets
both,
at
6%
a d
19.1%,
while
I do esia,
Ba gladesh
a d
Pakista
meet
eithe .

The
patte
is
commo
amo g
developed
eco omies
too:
the
US,
UK,
Ge ma y
a d
F a ce
meet
the
GDP
th eshold
but
ot
the
public
expe ditu e
be chma k,
while
Swede
a d
Switze la d
meet
both.U esco
oted
that
iche
cou t ies
te d
to
meet
the
GDP
be chma k
but
ot
the
public
expe ditu e
th eshold
because
they
aise
mo e
eve ue,
while
educatio
ofte
accou ts
fo
a
la ge
sha e
of
budgets
i
poo e
cou t ies.Latest
data
show
39
of
205
cou t ies,
o
19%,
meeti g
both
be chma ks,
while
72,
o
35%,
meet
eithe .
A othe
64
cou t ies,
i cludi g
I dia,
spe d
above
4%
of
GDP
but
below
15%
of
public
expe ditu e.
Amo g
high-i come
cou t ies,
11%
meet
both
be chma ks
a d
50%
follow
I dia’s
patte .I dia,
howeve ,
has
la ge
u met
schooli g
eeds.
Lowe
seco da y
completio
has
ise
f om
81%
i
2015
to
86%
but
emai s
13
pe ce tage
poi ts
below
its
99%
be chma k.
Eve
U esco’s
“feasible”
2025
be chma k
of
90%
is
fou
poi ts
above
the
latest
ate.

This
is
despite
p og ammes
ope ati g
at
scale.
U esco’s
I dia
p ofile
says
Samag a
Shiksha
suppo ts
about
15.6
c o e
lea e s,
while
PM-Posha
cove s
a ou d
11.8
c o e
child e
i
11.2
lakh
gove me t
a d
aided
schools.
The
t e d
is
pa t
of
a
b oade
global
co ce .
The
sco eca d
co cludes
that,
o
ave age,
cou t ies
a e
“movi g
away”
f om
the
public
educatio
expe ditu e
be chma ks
of
at
least
4%
of
GDP
o
15%
of
total
public
expe ditu e.