Education and Development: The Issues and the Evidence

Source: UNESCO 1991:36 Table 2.9

This indicates that in general proportional allocations averaged across regions have
remained fairly stable. Those in Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes a disproportionate
number of countries where GNP growth has been minimal, experienced a significant
decline in the mid 1980's but there has been some subsequent recovery. Alongside this
pattern the proportion of the national budget allocated to education in many developing
countries appears to have been falling. Two recent analyses indicate that the
proportions of central government expenditure allocated to education in the developing
countries on which there is data (about 35), show a fall in more than twice as many
cases as there have been increases over the period 1972-1982 and 1972 - 1986 (Lewin
1987:56, Hallak 1990:27). The proportions allocated to health have also declined more
often than they have increased. In countries with primary gross enrolment ratios
(GERs) below 90 in 1986 more than half (13 out of 21) experienced a decline in the
proportion of central government expenditure on education over the last five years on
which there were data (Colclough with Lewin Table 2.1 1993) Eight of these countries
are in Sub Saharan Africa.

If this partial picture is complemented by data on expenditure per student some finer
resolution of the consequences of the changed climate for educational investment
becomes possible. Table 2 shows expenditures in US$ and in units of GNP per capita in
the main regions.

Table 2: Public Current Expenditure per Pupil by Level of Education 197088.

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