Performance of Australian Aid 2015–16 May 2017

Education

Figure 32: Education areas of expenditure, 2015-16

In September 2015, the Australian Government launched the Strategy for Aid Investments in Education 2015-2020, which prioritises the following areas for support:

• investing in early childhood care and development, which has been shown to deliver high returns, particularly for the poorest and most marginalised children;

• investing in quality at all levels of the education system, because it is what students know and can do that matters for poverty reduction and economic growth. 

• prioritising equity, with a particular focus on gender and disability inclusiveness, because fairer education systems are also the most effective; and 

• aligning education and skills with labour market needs, through investing in relevant and high-quality secondary and post-secondary education.

Australia’s education strategy promotes the use of innovative approaches and partnerships, including with the private sector and multilateral organisations. In 2015, Australia’s $26 million funding through the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) - which assists 62 countries - helped 7.2 million children, including 3.4 million girls, to enrol in school. To help improve the quality of education globally, Australian support to the GPE helped provide 29.7 million additional textbooks and learning materials, build (or rehabilitate) 3,554 classrooms, and train 38,541 teachers.

In 2015-16, Australian funding through regional and bilateral education programs also delivered strong results against the strategy. Australia’s support enabled over 1.1 million girls and boys to enrol in schools across the Indo-Pacific region. Recognising the strong link between access to quality education and national growth rates, Australian funds trained approximately 136,000 teachers. With Australia’s support, almost 5,700 women and men across the region gained post-secondary qualifications, with programs demonstrating strong links to labour market needs.

To improve evidence on education performance, DFAT’s partnerships with Pacific Island countries, the Australian Centre for Global Education Monitoring, and UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics, led to stronger statistical systems across the region, more effective data collection, analysis and dissemination. In Bangladesh, with Australia’s assistance, the 2015-16 annual school census was completed on time for the first time, enabling efficient reporting and planning. In Nepal, Australia supported specific data collection to improve services for children living with disabilities.

In Fiji, Australia’s assistance for 85 schools in remote and/or socially disadvantaged communities allowed 50 per cent of year 4 students to achieve above the national average in literacy, and 54 per cent in numeracy (up from 37 per cent and 39 per cent respectively in 2012). In the Philippines, Australia supported the shift to an expanded school system by improving teacher development and helping with classroom infrastructure, and supported national assessments to deliver stronger high school graduates for tertiary level education. Australian assistance increased access to education for children affected by conflict living in Lebanon, Jordan and on the Thai-Myanmar border.

Overall, Australia’s education programs performed well in 2015-16. The percentage of aid investments meeting quality assessment criteria is on par with or higher than whole-of-aid program results (Figure 33).

Across the education portfolio, program performance on gender equality continued to rate highly at 95 per cent. Innovative initiatives in Laos, the Philippines, Myanmar and Nepal increased opportunities for marginalised girls to attend school, and for female teachers and principals to receive targeted support. Programs in Pakistan, Bangladesh and across the Pacific, demonstrated progress in making schools more affordable and supportive of girls’ needs. 

However, despite the good progress, DFAT’s education Community of Practice identified areas where more could be done to help marginalised girls get into and stay in school. DFAT will develop new guidance to help programs accelerate opportunities for marginalised girls to access education.

Vanuatu TVET Program delivers impressive results Vanuatu’s Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program facilitates skills development that links directly to provincial economic development. With Australian assistance, TVET Centres have opened in four provinces to train women and men in key skills for sectors that contribute to economic growth. The Vanuatu Government has committed funding, and the centres have contributed to significant tourism benefits. For instance, 77 local operators now meet Vanuatu Tourism Operator Minimum Standards.  An independent evaluation in 2015 verified the program’s impact in transforming the TVET sub-sector. The program’s success factors have included adopting a value-chain approach linking the formal and informal economies, values-based leadership and local empowerment, supported by minimal expatriate staff; and an adaptive, flexible approach including ‘at location’ training able to support marginalised groups.