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April 2007: Write to Your Representative Urging More and Better Funding for Global Education

How can I afford to send my children to school when I can’t afford to feed and clothe them? I know how important education is. But the school fees and books are beyond my means.

— Tatu Huseyni, coffee farmer, Tanzania

In Brief: In spite of leadership on basic education in Congress in the last several years, the U.S. contribution for global education is less than one-third the size of the UK commitment, though the U.S. economy is three times that of the UK. Moreover, it is not clear that current investments are being spent in the most effective way possible — as a targeted investment to gain access to education for the more than 90 million primary school aged children currently out of school around the world. In addition, barriers for girls, orphans and other vulnerable children, such as the continued charging of school fees, persist.

In April, RESULTS joins global education activists across the U.S. and around the world as part of the Global Campaign for Education’s Week of Action April 23–29. To maximize the impact of these global activities, RESULTS activists around the country will write letters all month long to their members of Congress requesting that they support Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), chair of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, and Frank Wolf (R-VA), ranking member of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, in providing increased funding for global basic education as well as targeting this funding to ensure that it is focused on reaching the goal of universal access to education for all children by 2015.

Sample Letter

Engage	Dear Representative ________, As a father of two children and a member of RESULTS, a grassroots advocacy organization committed to ending hunger and poverty, I am continually shocked to hear about the slow progress toward the goal of Education for All. As you surely are aware, education is cornerstone of development and critical for stabilizing democratic institutions and yet, more than 90 million primary school children around the world do not have access to at least a free primary basic education.
Problem	Standing between these children and access to a brighter future is a funding gap of roughly $10 billion a year. Moreover, policies such as the charging of school fees remain one of the biggest reasons that poor, vulnerable and orphaned children, the majority of whom are girls, are not in school. These fees are also one of the top reasons that families cite for not being able to afford to take in AIDS orphans. The U.S. must do more to support countries to abolish these fees and invest directly in efforts within countries to scale up and serve these additional children.
Inform about the Solution	When primary school fees were dropped in Kenya in 2003, over a million additional children showed up for school within weeks. The removal of these fees has served as a catalyst for increased allocation of resources for education within Kenya and from international donors — the flood of new children highlighted the “real” needs in the education system.
Call to Action!	Please speak personally and write to the chair and ranking member of the of the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee of Appropriations, Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Frank Wolf (R-VA), and support them to: 1) provide $1 billion for global basic education with $200 million of that overall amount going directly to the Catalytic Fund of the Fast Track Initiative; 2) include report language requiring USAID to design and track its basic education programs to achieve specific targets related to increasing school enrollment, retention and basic measures of educational attainment — in order to maximize the impact of U.S. education resources — and provide not less than $15 million for direct school fee abolition; 3) include language to ensure that the president’s Millennium Challenge Corporation prioritizes basic education as a key piece of their strategy, ideally using not less than 20 percent of the resources appropriated for the MCC for basic education efforts. I look forward to your reply and to supporting you in your efforts to do more for out-of-school children.

What is Education for All?

Education for All (EFA) is a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, launched at the World Conference on Education for All in 1990. Education for All is also goal #2 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — eight goals which serve as the blueprint by which humanity could halve extreme poverty by 2015.

What are School Fees?

Instituted in the early 1980s and 90s, school fees were originally instituted at the behest of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a way for countries to create revenue and pay back their debt to these lenders. This put both the burden of the debt and the burden of the cost of education on the backs of poor families and children — those who could benefit most, but afford it least. In 2003, when Kenya abolished primary school fees, over a million additional children came to school overnight. Abolishing school fees served as a catalyst for the rapid scale-up of education in Kenya and offered hope to all the children who now have access to a free public primary education.

Why $1 Billion for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008?

The gap between what poor countries spend on basic education and what they need is estimated to be roughly $10 billion every year. Although $1 billion represents more than a doubling of U.S. basic education funding from $465 million for both FY 2006 and 2007, $1 billion is the amount called for 2007 in The Education for All Act of 2006, sponsored by Foreign Operations Chair Nita Lowey. This legislation is expected to be reintroduced in 2007.

What is the Fast Track Initiative and Why Should the U.S. Invest in It?

The Fast Track Initiative (FTI) is a partnership between civil society, donors and developing countries to ensure accelerated progress toward the MDG of universal primary education by 2015. Through the FTI, developing countries agree to put primary education at the forefront of their domestic efforts and develop sound national education plans in consultation with all stakeholders. Donors then agree to provide coordinated and increased financial and technical support for these plans. The FTI Catalytic Fund was created to provide transitional financial support to low-income countries that have education plans endorsed by donors. Although the U.S. is one of the key donor partners, the U.S. has not yet contributed funding to the Catalytic Fund. Investment in FTI would enable resources to go directly to country national education plans and could enable U.S. donor commitments to be leveraged for increased commitments from other countries and a stronger global partnership on Education for All.

What is the Millennium Challenge Corporation?

The President’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was created in 2004 to provide significant development resources to “good performing countries” for “reducing poverty through growth.” Although the MCC states that it “focuses specifically on promoting sustainable economic growth to reduce poverty through investments in areas such as . . . education,” the MCC has in fact overlooked basic education in all but one country compact so far (Burkina Faso). Investments in education would clearly increase the impact of other MCC investments, as education is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty and disease and promote democracy and development.

What Should the U.S. Congress Do?

• Provide $1 billion for global basic education, with $200 million of the overall amount directly to the Catalytic Fund of the Fast Track Initiative.
• Support language requiring USAID to design and track its basic education programs to achieve specific targets related to increasing school enrollment, retention and basic measures of educational attainment; and provide not less than $15 million for direct school fee abolition.
• Support language to ensure that the president’s Millennium Challenge Corporation prioritizes basic education as a key piece of its strategy, ideally using not less than 20% of the resources appropriated for the MCC for basic education efforts.

What is the Global Campaign for Education?

The U.S. Chapter of the GCE is a coalition of more than 30 non-governmental and religious organizations, teachers unions, foundations and child advocates. The U.S. chapter is part of a network in more than 150 countries. To learn more about additional activities that you can do in your community, go to http://www.campaignforeducationusa.org/ or contact Kolleen Bouchane kbouchane@results.org.