International Aid to India for Education Declined by 26% : UN Data

As per data gathered by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, the international aid that India received for education has been at an all-time low. The international aid that India received was 26% lower than the aid that India received in 2017.

According to the data, India received $464 million in 2017, which is low when compared to the international aid received in 2016, which was $634 million. UNESCO stated that the amount received, has been the lowest in the past four years. They added that this might hurt the inclusive education for all.

The leading author of the global aid education monitoring report stated that to combat this reduction in international aid will make the task of bridging the educational gap difficult. He added that the low turnout from global donors is a necessary component in tackling some of the bigger issues that are persistent in the initiative of education for all.

Among the top donors in the international aid, the International Development Association (IDA), even though stays as the top donor, has reduced the aid that it provided India with $240 million provided by them in 2017 which is lower than the $447 million that it offered in 2016, sources state. The United Kingdom has been lowering its contribution to international aid since 209, where they had offered $208 million, which has now reduced to $7.5 million in 2017. This decline in the amount being received globally for international aid, which is 2% from the 2019 contribution to the aid, has forced UNESCO to question the promise of global donors in its drive for education for all.

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The stats from the UN Agency also reveal that India has been rapidly growing its education sector with promising results to prove it. Sources state that the number of children who have not been enrolled under any education programme in India has reduced significantly. They added that even though the results show high growth in the education sector, there are still parts of India which are hard to reach, thus, a requirement to push the inclusive education needs a harder push.

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An official from the Ministry of Human Resource and Development stated that India has been making various efforts and are still dedicated to promoting education for all initiative. The official added that the reduction in international aid will not impact inclusive education. He stated that the government is able to provide over 3% of its GDP on the education sector.