Action by KfW Entwicklungsbank
Education for All - By All Working Together
Every step at the education is important for the development of an individual person and also for the development of the country. Source: Ulrich Jahn
There are still more than 860 million people around the world without access to education. Approximately 796 million adults are illiterate, and some two-thirds of those are women. About 67 million children of primary school age do not attend school at all (2008 figures), and 54 per cent of those are girls. Regardless of internationally recognised human rights, pursuant to which the state is obliged to offer free, compulsory primary education, many countries - predominantly poor nations - impose school fees. On top of that there are costs for books, school uniforms, travelling expenses and meals.
These costs are too high, especially for poor families. But there are other reasons why so many children stay away from school, or soon drop out. For instance, children often have to work to supplement the family income, either in the fields or taking care of their younger siblings. For girls in particular, who in some cultures are allowed to venture only short distances away from home, this presents an insurmountable obstacle to regular school attendance
A Key Issue for KfW Entwicklungsbank
KfW Entwicklungsbank supports developing countries on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in fulfilling their educational responsibilities. To this end it makes funds available for investments and advisory services - funds that are firmly pledged by the federal government.
"Education for all" is a key issue for German Financial Cooperation (FC). Important elements are widening access, especially for disadvantaged groups and improving the quality of primary education.
In addition, the need to support continuing education at higher levels is increasingly coming to the fore. Having successfully completed the primary stage of education, large numbers of children move forward into secondary school or vocational training programmes. The proportion of children who go on to study at university is significantly lower than in industrialised nations. But poor countries need highly qualified people as well, to drive development forward.
In its educational programmes, KfW Entwicklungsbank relies on close cooperation and coordination with other donors. Promoting education on a sustainable basis can only succeed if governments, civil societies, the private sector and the international donor community all pull together. For example it is vital to involve private enterprise in designing of training courses, as this is the only way to take the demand for skilled workers into account.
Support for Educational Reforms
Many countries which have begun to invest in basic education then set about fundamentally reforming their entire educational system. They establish educational programmes lasting a number of years. This is especially true of African countries. KfW Entwicklungsbank supports partner governments in setting up these programmes, and co-finances the central structural reforms and programme measures. It is actively involved in the continued development of joint funding approaches at the international level and in the countries concerned. To support the institutional and personal development of partner systems (Capacity Development), it works closely with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and other institutions.
Together with other donors, KfW Entwicklungsbank is involved in creating a positive environment for education through a framework of programme-based approaches. This can mean, for example, improving public finance, decentralising educational administration and modernising the education system. A form of financing widely used in Africa is known as "basket funding". Here, several donors pay into a special account, out of which selected projects within the sector programme - such as the building of schools, teacher training, schoolbooks, decentralised administration facilities or direct grants to schools - are financed. However, the donors and the partner country can also agree on selected projects to be financed as part of an overall sector-wide plan. For some years now, both these forms of sector-wide financing have been increasingly deployed within the education sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In order to improve education, KfW Entwicklungsbank is making almost 851 million euros available for current education projects. Out of this total, 635 million euros is being channelled into primary and secondary education, and 168 million euros into vocational training. As in the 1990s, the most important area, relative to the other educational areas, is the funding of primary education projects. The majority of these funds go to Africa and Asia.
Further Information
Last updated: July 2011
