Dakar, 2 February 2018: Today the UK Government announced that it will pledge £225 million over three years to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). RESULTS UK welcomes the UK Government’s support for global education, but is disappointed that today’s pledge falls far short of the $500 million (£360 million approx.) commitment necessary to drive the delivery of quality, equitable learning for the world’s most vulnerable children.
RESULTS UK Head of Parliamentary Advocacy, Lucy Drescher said:
“This replenishment was the Secretary of State’s first opportunity on the international stage to showcase the UK’s commitment to a Global Britain that values the critical role of education in ending poverty and improving the lives of girls. Today’s announcement, which indicates that the UK’s financial support for GPE remains stagnant, calls into question that commitment.
Despite strong statements in support of GPE, we are disappointed that the UK has not turned this rhetoric into reality with its announcement today. Historically, the UK has been the largest donor to GPE and this pledge raises concerns that commitments will not meet the overall pledging target of US$3.1 billion. Should this result in a funding gap, all donors including the UK will need to step up and rise to the challenge of the global learning crisis.
Nonetheless we are heartened by the ambitions and commitment shown by many developing country governments. Senegal, which is co-hosting the conference with France, already allocates 24% of its national budget to education. These governments are leading the way in building national education systems to ensure that every child has the opportunity to go to school and to learn.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact Tom Maguire on [email protected] or on 02077933970.
RESULTS UK is a movement of passionate, committed, everyday people who together use their voices to influence political decisions that will bring an end to poverty. For more information please visit www.results.org.uk.