Basic Education

Description

Basic Education programs provide children with safe and equitable access to quality, inclusive education so that they can develop the necessary skills to join the global workforce and lead happy, successful lives. These programs help build pathways to self-reliance for both children and entire communities.

What does it buy?

Funds are provided to partners through grants, cooperative agreements, and other mechanisms to implement programs that increase equitable access to education, advance learning outcomes, improve early grade reading, and provide young people with relevant skills to gain employment.

Why is it important?

• In FY 2018, Basic Education programs reached over 33.5 million learners in 51 countries, including more than 12 million children and youth living in countries affected by conflict or crisis.
• Since 2000, the total number of out-of-school children and youth has dropped by over 111 million, and global primary school enrollment has grown to 91% of primary-school-age children.
• A dollar invested in an additional year of schooling, particularly for girls, generates earnings and health benefits of $10 in low-income countries and nearly $4 in lower-middle-income countries.
• The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) supported 22 million children in school in FY 2019. Almost two-thirds of GPE partner countries allotted 20% or more of their budgets for education or increased financing for education in 2017.
• 262 million children and youth are still not in school, and millions more are failing to acquire essential reading, writing, and numeracy skills.
• Nine out of 10 children with disabilities are out of school, and 80% of all children with disabilities live in developing countries. They are often excluded from education and society due to physical, ideological, systemic, or communication barriers.

Why should Americans care?

• Education is critical to promoting long-term, broad-based economic growth and stability, reducing poverty and inequality, improving health, and promoting participatory democracy.
  Increases in women’s education are responsible for more than half the reduction in under-five child mortality.
• Early childhood education helps build children’s brain architecture, the foundation upon which all later learning, behavior, and health depend.

What more could be done?

• Additional investments could grow the scale and impact of education programs focused on children living through humanitarian emergencies. More than 70 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, and for children living in countries affected by conflict and crisis, education is a lifesaving humanitarian intervention.
• More resources could expand early childhood education programming and prepare children to achieve success throughout their lifetime. 80% of children ages three to five in low-income countries do not have access to early childhood education despite the high return on investment of pre-primary education.
• Gender gaps in educational attainment persist at the secondary level in many countries. For adolescent girls, secondary education is essential for future opportunities to gain employment. Each additional year of education for girls is estimated to yield a 10% increase in future wages.
• More resources could help children with disabilities enroll in school, make school buildings and infrastructure accessible for persons with disabilities, train teachers in special needs education, and promote inclusive education on national and international levels.
• As the 2019-2023 U.S. Government Strategy on International Basic Education moves forward, additional funding will help track progress, identify gaps in education service delivery, and expand programs for vulnerable populations; including displaced persons, out-of-school children, and those with disabilities.