African Primary and Secondary education fund (APSEF) - Concept NOTE Lina Henao SDG Advisor

Outline Objective Education in Africa Finance Gap The Fund

Objective Hear from you! Get inputs from discussion to shape the Fund Set first milestone for the Fund

Education in Africa No African country has achieved universal primary education. Out of the 63.3 million children out of school in primary age, 54% live in sub-Saharan Africa and 56% of them are girls. Lower secondary and upper secondary enrolment are the lowest in the world at 50%, and 32%. 45 students per class in primary schools. Maths textbook shared by more than 10 students. 1 in 3 primary schools do not have a toilet. Secondary schools can accommodate only 36% of qualifying secondary students. The learning crisis is so deep that in fact, students attending school are not actually learning much more than those who are not in school. Home of 226 million young people between 15 and 24 years, Africa is the youngest continent in the world. It is estimated that it will reach 2.5 billion people by 2050 with half of the population under the age of 25.

Education in Africa % of Children Reaching Functional Reading by Age 10 Less than a fifth of children in primary reach basic international learning benchmarks, compared to 88% in high-income countries. 7 out of 100 secondary-school aged children are learning minimum secondary-level skills. Less than 1 in 20 poor rural girls in SSA on track to complete secondary school, which is seven times less likely than non-poor urban boys. In the less than 23% of 10-year old children are able to functionally read, speaks out loud of the system`s deficiencies

Education in Africa in 2030 Only 3 out of 10 school-aged children will be on track to achieve basic primary-level skills. Less than 1 out of 10 in school-children will be on track to achieve minimum secondary-school level skills by 2030. The expected learning outcomes of cohort of students who are of school age in 2030 low income countries have more than two thirds of primary school-aged children that will not learn basic primary skills. The learning crisis is so deep that in fact students actually attending school are not actually learning much than those who are not in school

Education in Africa- Main Problems Access Quality Lack of teachers ( quality and quantity) Infrastructure Inequality Resources

Importance of Education Basic education is crucial in bridging students with higher education. Important produce graduates with the skills the labour market is demanding It takes five years for a university graduate to obtain a job. Young people in Africa make up nearly 40% of the working-age population, yet 60% are unemployed. Graduates being able to find productive jobs is a key catalyst for economic growth.

Education: The Best Investment 1 dollar invested in a one-year increase in the mean years of schooling generates more than US$5 in additional gross earnings and US$5 additional if health benefits are considered Investing in girls education is a catalyst for cutting child and maternal deaths, and lifting people out of poverty. Investing early and sufficiently, including everyone and leveraging synergies with other sectors is the best way to reap the benefits of education.

Financing gap Targets Universal Access Improved Quality Improved Infrastructure Annual Expenditure per student in SS Africa USD$ Level 2015 2030 Pre-primary 389 831 Primary 242 392 Secondary 613 715 Post-secondary 2892 2887 Total cost in billion US$ sub-Saharan Africa almost doubles at US$392 and US$715. These higher education per-student costs are due to the relatively lower student-teacher ratios, higher teacher salaries, and a greater need for classroom construction as well as efforts to improve quality at the primary and secondary level. In sub-Saharan Africa the starting point for this investment is significantly different from other low income countries in the world. For example, in primary education alone one million new teachers will need to be recruited in Africa to achieve universal primary education by 2030. Level 2015 2030 Pre-primary 4 30 Primary 38 87 Secondary 41 114 Post-secondary 32 96 TOTAL 115 327 Annual total cost of primary education is projected to more than double from, US$38 b to US$87 b Secondary education needs to almost triple, from US$41 bi in 2015 to US$114 b 2030. Post secondary will need to triple

Financing gap dccd Education ODA stagnated in US$11 to US$12 billion since 2007, while infrastructure ODA sky-rocketed from 10 to 37 US$ billion, from 2002 to 2014.

Solutions Quality More Teachers Better Teachers Higher Public expenditure Increase School Time Leverage Technology Data and Reporting Quick wins In-school programs Access Increase enrolment Healthy Students Community-based accountability

Solutions

Why a Separate Education fund for Africa? MDG era only US$4 billion were raised by the development community for the African education cause in 15 years. If left solely to international partners, the required monetary effort would not suffice. Africa needs to put in place its own vehicle that will take into account the urgency of the problem. Magnitude of the issue: By 2015 the financial need to provide in Sub Saharan Africa access, quality and equity in primary and secondary was 79 billion (US ), this need will be 210 billion in 2030, considering population trajectories and rise in prices. Thereafter, if left solely to international partners, the required monetary effort would not suffice. We need to put in place our own vehicle that will take into account the urgency, the magnitude and the complexity of this call of ours The proposed Africa Primary and Secondary Education Fund (APSEF) aims to remodel the continent; ensuring that African graduates have the competences, knowledge and tools to match the continuously more demanding national and global labour markets and/or tertiary education institutions. This, by offering adequate and sustainable financial means to African governments, the initiative will support the implementation of cost-effective primary and secondary education strategies.

APSEF propositions…. US$20 billion incremental fund Matching grant with countries’ commitment with best practices and specific targets. Conditional and target-performance based. Potential source of funding: Increasing education expenditure Foreign governments (OECD countries increasing their ODA) Channeling South to South resources (exe: BRICS) Private sector Philanthropists Education foundations Non-governmental organizations Secretariat - education expert and technicians. Each nation represented by its Ministries of Education and National Planning.

APSEF The Board - Pool of rotating Education Ministers from at least each region (North, West, Central East and Southern), education academics and policy experts and donor representatives. Eligibility – conditional to each nation’s commitment, an education expenditure benchmark will be established, according to countries circumstances, which on the lower bound will determine eligibility and above that benchmark additional budgetary efforts will be rewarded with a matching mechanism. Fund operation and Replenishment - US$20 billion in 3 years, from 2021 to 2023, with a target of raising US$10 billion in the first year and the remaining 10 in the other two. In 2021, 75% of the available funds will be disbursed ideally, with the conditionality of always safeguarding 25% of the fund.