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Global Perspective

Education is recognised as an engine of economic development and is acknowledged as an important instrument of competitive advantage for any nation. In today’s world, education is a medium of social and professional development rather than the traditional concept of being a medium of imparting skills. Globalisation has brought about a dramatic and unprecedented change across the various sectors in the Indian economy.

Understandably, a country’s competitiveness and growth potential are measured through various factors such as availability of knowledge resources (human capital), incentive system to accelerate economic policies, and institutions that permit efficient mobilisation and allocation of resources, innovation in utilising global knowledge, and a modern, adequate and efficient information technology infrastructure. The key factor, however, that decides a country’s competitiveness is creation of a high-skilled workforce that is able to access, adapt, apply and create new opportunities.

Governments across the world bear the primary responsibility of imparting basic education. In India too, the government’s pro-educational policies have emerged as a significant factor in bridging the literacy gap; for instance, a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in India in 1993 concretised effective guarantees of the right to education. According to this ruling, as the right to education up to 14 years of age is a fundamental right in the Constitution, it is enforceable by the courts, and parents have every right to sue the government for lack of access to government schools. Other countries also have policy measures to provide free and compulsory education to all. Although the duration of compulsory education differs from 5 years to 12 or more years, by 2005 compulsory education laws existed in 95% of 203 countries and territories as compared to 23 countries in 2000 as per UNESCO’s EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008. According to the survey conducted among education task team leaders at the World Bank, out of 93 countries, only 16 had no school charges of any type of primary education.

However, the term ‘basic education’ has gained prominence over a period of time. At the end of 1970s, 14% of national education systems employed this term, which gradually went up to 38% by 1990s. Finally, between 2000 and 2006, almost 63% of the 182 countries that had data referred to at least one segment of their education system as basic education. According to UNESCO terminology, the duration of basic education varies from 9 years of schooling for 48% of countries; 10 years for 20% of countries, or 8 years for 11% of countries.

One in five adults still illiterate

Adult literacy continues to remain a serious global issue. According to UNESCO’s EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008, one in five adults is illiterate (two-thirds of them being women), 75 million children are school drop-outs, 774 million adults still lack basic literacy skills, among whom 64% are women and this figure has not changed since 1990s. East Asia, South and West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa have vast majority of adult illiterates who comprise one in five adults around the world who are still denied the right to literacy.

According to UNESCO’s report, the global adult literacy rate increased from 76% in 1985-1994 to 82% in 1995-2004. Arab states and South and West Asia recorded the highest increase. However, increase in literacy rates does not always translate to decline in number of illiterate adults. In Arab states, for instance, the number of illiterates went up with the rise in literacy rates because of rise in population.

Illiteracy is a result of lack of suitable infrastructure, financial resources, and poverty. Pupil to teacher ratio is another area of concern, mostly in developing nations.

US accounts for more than one-quarter of global education budget

Cost of schooling remains a major obstacle to education for millions of children and youth even though 14 countries have abolished primary school tuition fees since 2000. The government needs to mobilise necessary resources to enforce the right to education and many countries opt for securing resources by introducing funding provisions in the national legislation. For example, Mexico’s 2003 Law of Education allocates 8% of GDP to public education. Similarly, the Constitution of Indonesia was amended in 2002 to mandate spending on education corresponding to 20% of the central and regional budgets. Public expenditure, which is crucial to the education system, reflects the investments and costs associated with education. It covers public contributions to the full range of expenses, including school construction and maintenance, teacher’s salaries, learning materials, as well as loans and scholarships for tuition and student living costs. Major gaps are seen in the 122 countries with regards to public contribution towards primary education. The sub-Saharan African region invests the most, 2.1% of its GDP, on primary level of education followed by Arab states and Latin America and the Caribbean. Central Asia is among the lowest expenders. Global spending on education is concentrated with a handful of more developed countries; for example, the US, which houses just 4% of the world’s population aged between 5 to 25 years, accounts for more than one-quarter of the global education budget. The US’s education expenditure equals the combined expenditure of six regions: the Arab states, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, South and West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, governments in sub-Saharan Africa spend only 2.4% of the world’s education resources on 15.0% of the school-age population.

France, Japan and the US among the leading donors of education in 2005

The primary responsibility for framing and implementing education policies and plans lies with the governments; but for many countries, particularly the underdeveloped countries, progress also depends on support of donors. The commitments of aid to basic education increased from US$ 2.7 billion in 2000 to US$ 5.1 billion in 2004; however, this commitment decreased to US$ 3.7 billion in 2005. The greatest beneficiaries of such aid were low-income countries, such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Congo, Cambodia, who received US$ 3.1 billion a year on an average in 2004 and 2005. The sub-Saharan African countries continue to receive the largest amount in aid for education in general. For basic education, the shares of South and West Asia have increased from 12% to 20% respectively for education and 16% to 31% for basic education. World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) was among one of the largest multilateral donor agencies and had on an average commitments to the tune of US$ 1.4 billion annually in 2004 and 2005. During 2004-05, France was the largest contributor to global aid for education and had a 41% share at an annual contribution of US$ 1.5 billion. France was followed by Japan and the US with US$ 1 billion and US$ 672 million, respectively.