Education

As early as at the World Conference on Education in Thailand in 1990, the right to "Education for All" was elevated to a goal of the international community. However, according to the latest UNESCO "Global Monitoring Report - Education for All", this goal is still far from being reached. Despite tremendous efforts about 61 million children are still not attending a school. Furthermore, the quality of basic education is often insufficient and many children do not even finish primary school as only 58% in Sub-Saharan Africa do. Hence, the aspirations of the SDGs are high (target 4.1): By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.

In the international context, the universal understanding of basic education consists of 6 to 8 years of primary and lower secondary school. About 55 % of KfW’s education budget goes into primary and secondary school projects. Currently, KfW Development Bank promotes, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), 96 projects with a total volume of EUR 1.15 billion worldwide (2016). The regional focus lies in North Africa/Middle East followed by Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

In order to enable as many children as possible to acquire basic reading, writing, and mathematical skills, KfW promotes the construction, refurbishment, equipment of schools and teaching centres as well as the provision of teaching and learning material. The promotion of secondary schools becomes increasingly important due to a growing number of pupils. These schools are, for instance, supported with improvements for natural science classes or scholarships for poor and talented pupils. Moreover, KfW promotes teacher trainings in order to improve the overall quality of teaching. In many cases, projects of basic education are conducted in cooperation with other partners (basket funding) or the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). This enables us to make comprehensive contributions towards solving diverse issues within the education sectors of the partner countries.

All of the above is helping children to attend inclusive schools with proper education. Inclusive implies that girls, disabled children or minorities are granted equitable access to schools. Thereby, KfW Development Bank is contributing its share to reduce educational poverty and to increase social and political participation.

Current Topics – Primary and secondary education (PDF, 235 KB, non-accessible)

Project information - Primary education Egypt

International development cooperation has contributed to a significant increase of school attendance. This in turn has led to an increase in demand for further education. Moreover, a growing population in many developing and emerging countries poses the challenge of integrating young adolescents into the labour market. Consequently, the BMZ seeks to further expand vocational training in the partner countries. This strategy is in accordance with two targets of the SDGs. Namely, the provision of equal and affordable access to vocational and university institutions. Here, young adolescents are taught relevant practical skills that prepare them for the labour market or self-employment.

In order to extend the capacities for vocational training and relevant training courses, KfW finances the construction, expansion, and equipment of vocational training facilities. In addition, the facilities management and teaching staff is supported. For the purpose of equality, scholarships and educational loans are helping to make vocational training more accessible for underprivileged adolescents. The GIZ is also advising the school administration or ministries of education, e.g. in introducing nationwide certification and qualification systems

When it comes to vocational training, it has proven to be extremely important to adapt planning and practices to economic needs. This implies that training courses in vocational schools and private businesses have to be in alignment with the requirements and demand of the labour market. Consequently, the respective government and the private sector need to jointly consider how educational reforms can be designed.

Current Topics - Vocational training

Many developing and emerging countries are lacking universities and research institutions. However, both are vital for a country’s social and economic progress since well-educated technical experts and managers create impetus and drive innovations. Thus, the promotion of higher education is a target within SDG 4 and furthermore acts as a leaver for other education-related targets. For example: Teacher trainings at universities are essential to provide for qualitative basic education and vocational training for all children and young adolescents.

A distinct higher education deficit can currently be observed in continental Africa, which has overall the lowest rate of scientists worldwide: Among the top 500 universities worldwide, only four are in Africa. For those reasons, KfW Development Bank is investing in a variety projects of tertiary education in different countries. These projects are aiming to increase the future prospects of young adolescents in the labour market and indirectly creating jobs. Among the range of instruments are for example student loan programmes financed via regional education funds in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, KfW supports individual universities for instance in the establishment of research networks for land utilisation and climate change in Africa or a pan African Institute for energy and water sciences.

Current Topics - Higher Education

Before young adolescents can attend an institution of higher education, they need to be able to afford it. Unfortunately, the majority of them is not able to pay for the expenses. Against this background, KfW Development Bank is offering programmes of demand-side financed education while being able to draw upon its extensive experience in the distribution of domestic student loans. Demand-side financed education means that resources are directly allocated among the target group. The instruments provided include student or training loans, scholarships or education vouchers for students as well as cash transfers for impoverished families with children. These projects are targeting talented yet impoverished children and young adolescents to enable them to continue onto the next educational level in order to receive a professional qualification.

This relatively new approach by Financial Cooperation (FC) is of great importance to many governments as they have to answer the question how higher education can be financed with a growing number of applicants. Demand-side financed education is assisting states in a cost-sharing approach to ensure equitable access to education. On behalf of the BMZ, for example, KfW finances regional funds in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa that offer student loans through micro-finance institutions. Examples of other FC projects include offering scholarships to secondary school children in Kenya and students in Guatemala, as well as vouchers for vocational training in Ghana.