A ‘school report’ on 22 rich countries’ aid to basic education in developing countries.

How, we asked ourselves, would the 22 rich country leaders fare if we examined their performance on their promise to provide the aid needed for every child to get an education?

Leaders in developing countries are often subject to all sorts of targets and standards set down by rich countries. So we – a coalition of development organisations, civil society networks, and teachers’ unions from across the
world – decided to turn the tables, and write a ‘school report’ on rich countries’ aid to basic education. We set up an independent research team to grade each country according to the quantity and quality of their aid.

The results shocked us. Sadly, the general standards of most rich countries are terrible, and the contrast between rhetoric and reality is staggering. However, we are happy to report that a few countries, such as the Netherlands, do well. They prove, by their example, that rich countries can meet the grade.

The figures we used to make our assessment are taken from data supplied by rich countries themselves to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The tests we applied are based on principles of effective development partnership that all 22 countries claim to uphold: an overall aid level that meets the internationally agreed target; a fair contribution to financing basic education; a focus on the poorest countries; ‘untying aid’ – i.e. not demanding that aid is spent on your country’s products and personnel; and a real commitment to a global solution to the crisis in basic education. The methods we have used to calculate performance are not the only ones that can be used, but they are objective and have been applied in the same way to all countries. (A full account is given at the back of the report.) Of course, our ratings are only as good as the data on which they are based. In a few cases, incomplete data may
mean that some countries scored a lower mark on specific tests than they really deserve. However, they have no one but themselves to blame – full and accurate reporting on commonly agreed aid indicators is countries’ own responsibility, and is itself a crucial step towards improving aid effectiveness. Lack of reliable data also meant that we could not cover all of the dimensions of aid performance that we would have liked to: for example, we could not find good measures of coordination amongst donors, or of commitment to gender equity.

We’ve tried to express the results in a medium that is fun, and easy to understand. It is, at times however, impossible to avoid jargon, so we have included a handy glossary at the back of the book.

This report is published after a decade in which promises have been broken, remade and rebroken; in which aid has declined, debt relief has been delayed, and donor countries have failed to join forces with poor countries (or even with each other) through a properly funded global framework to tackle the education financing crisis. Throughout this time, the public in each of the rich countries have been told by their governments that their country is the model of generosity. This report tells the real story and highlights what needs to be done – but its impact
depends on citizens everywhere demanding their governments keep their promises to the world’s children. As the ‘school motto’ we chose for the cover of this report says, ‘World leaders need educating too.’ We hope you enjoy the report. We hope that you are motivated to take action afterwards. Please visit our website at www.campaignforeducation.org to find out more.

The Global Campaign for Education
© Global Campaign for Education 2003
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