On the occasion of the African Union’s Day of the African Child, Human Rights Watch has issued a call to action for African governments, criticizing their consistent failure to meet education funding targets. This shortfall in funding is cited as a significant obstacle in delivering quality public education to millions of children across the continent, according to a report released by the organization.
Despite existing international benchmarks, notably UNESCO’s recommendation to allocate four to six percent of GDP or 15 to 20 percent of total public expenditure towards education, most African nations are falling short. Recent data indicates a downward trend, with only one-third of African countries meeting these benchmarks as of 2024, a figure that decreased to one-quarter by 2022. An analysis by UNICEF further supports these claims, highlighting that fewer than twenty percent of African countries spend at least twenty percent of public expenditure on education.
The lack of funding has severe implications: schools remain underfunded, classrooms overcrowded, and teachers inadequately trained. Currently, the continent holds the highest out-of-school rates globally, with over 100 million children and adolescents unable to access education, as emphasized by Human Rights Watch. This funding gap leads to increased educational costs borne by families, amounting to 27 percent of total education spending, with an annual financing gap of over US $77 billion to meet AU Sustainable Development Goals.
Human Rights Watch points to political and economic policy failures, alongside regressive austerity measures, as root causes of this systemic underinvestment. Particularly concerning is that 15 countries in the region allocate more funds to debt servicing than to education, disproportionately affecting children from economically disadvantaged families and exacerbating barriers for young girls, who face issues ranging from tuition fees to school-related gender-based violence.
As Africa observes the AU’s Year of Education 2025, experts urge immediate action to rectify these disparities and meet international education funding standards.