Accra, Ghana - More than US$8 billion of aid is needed yearly to supplement Africa's spending on education to improve quality and enhance access, Nicholas Burnett, Assistant Director-General for Education, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), said in Accra on Monday.
Currently, about US$1.5 billion of aid goes into education in Africa.
He told reporters ahead of the Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness which begins in Accra on Tuesday that the huge aid gap did not augur well for progress in the education sector.
The forum brings together ministers from over 100 countries and heads of multilateral and bilateral development agencies, donors and civil society organizations.
The consultations will take stock of progress made in implementing the Paris Declaration commitments, identify bottlenecks and challenges and determine actions donors and partner countries need to take to make aid more effective.
Burnett said although significant progress had been made on the continent in education enrolment, it had not been matched by improvement in quality.
It is estimated that 10 per cent of children worldwide are out of school and Africa alone accounts for half the number.
Besides, the pupil-teacher ratio has gone worse with about four million teachers needed to be trained between now and 2015 to ensure the average of 40 students per teacher.
Burnett said UNESCO's main concern on aid effectiveness was how to increase the level of donor inflows and the use of such resources effectively to facilitate the provision of quality education.
Currently, about US$1.5 billion of aid goes into education in Africa.
He told reporters ahead of the Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness which begins in Accra on Tuesday that the huge aid gap did not augur well for progress in the education sector.
The forum brings together ministers from over 100 countries and heads of multilateral and bilateral development agencies, donors and civil society organizations.
The consultations will take stock of progress made in implementing the Paris Declaration commitments, identify bottlenecks and challenges and determine actions donors and partner countries need to take to make aid more effective.
Burnett said although significant progress had been made on the continent in education enrolment, it had not been matched by improvement in quality.
It is estimated that 10 per cent of children worldwide are out of school and Africa alone accounts for half the number.
Besides, the pupil-teacher ratio has gone worse with about four million teachers needed to be trained between now and 2015 to ensure the average of 40 students per teacher.
Burnett said UNESCO's main concern on aid effectiveness was how to increase the level of donor inflows and the use of such resources effectively to facilitate the provision of quality education.
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