Nursery World - Aid spending on early years at record high, but investment on higher education remains 21 times higher

There has been record aid spending on early years education, but millions of the world’s poorest children are still missing out on pre-school because of a ‘chronic’ lack of funding by donor countries, according to a new report.

The report for Theirworld reveals just 1.4 per cent of total education spending is invested in early years, PHOTO: Theirworld

Analysis by the University of Cambridge for global children’s charity, Theirworld, reveals that global aid for pre-primary education increased by 40 per cent between 2021 and 2022 to a record high of $282m.

World leaders told to invest more in the early years

However, the rise in aid was driven largely by one donor, the World Bank, which invested $181m on pre-primary education in 2022, almost two-thirds of total aid to pre-primary education.

The analysis – A Turning Point? An updated scorecard on donor funding to pre-primary education - analyses data submitted by international donors to the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee Creditor System.

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