This Article is written by Lindiwe Nchonyane, a Second Year Law Student of University of Johannesburg

Introduction:

Education is a field of study that concerns the process of teaching and learning in an institutional context including schools unlike other forms of learning interaction that occur in society for instance parents-children’s relations and the development of a defined country.[1] Education is undoubtedly the best option for liberating vulnerable children and adults from poverty and also the key to other basic human rights. One of the most effective means of rescuing marginalized children and adults from poverty is education, which also serves as a springboard for other essential human rights. Thus, investments are the most sustainable. Education is a fundamental right recognized by international treaties and national laws worldwide. However, many countries are experiencing significant budget cuts in education, which jeopardize the quality and accessibility of learning.

Over time, the education sector has however faced severe cutbacks on its budgets in the many regions of the world. As recognized by UNESCO, several nations have cut education budgets due to such pressure and allocated more funds to maintain their budgets’ stability than promoting education in the long term (UNESCO, 2020).[2] It has been worrisome for several years now that education budgets are being slashed globally worse still in the developing world. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, low and lower-middle-income countries have cut spending on education. Many of these nations had to make deeper reductions to their educational spending, affecting both the present and the next generation. These budgets are dangerously low.

In many countries, there are continuous education budget reductions, which result in a decrease in the education quality. Reasons for such reductions sometimes may be due to factors such as poor economic performance, changes in policy, direction, or priorities, and the need to give priority to areas such as health or physical infrastructure. In some regions these cuts can result in an even bigger number of students per class, less educational materials and facilities, and no student assistance. Such effects can be even more marked in hungry areas of education where the available funding is already known to be inadequate. The situation globally has/was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic which contributed to further complications of these problems as governments were/were forced to shift attention to dealing with health crises. Although some countries have begun to invest in education again, it is still possible to observe the trends of budget reductions.

Persistent education funding declines in various countries have greatly affected the education standards in terms of quality, and affordability for learners. Already before COVID-19, the education system of the world was in deep trouble, a huge number of children and adolescents at the primary and secondary levels are currently out of school. The pandemic has exacerbated this issue, forcing almost 1.6 billion children out of school and leading to an additional 101 million children in grades 1 through 8 falling below reading proficiency levels.[3] The COVID-19 crisis has had a disproportionate impact on the most disadvantaged children and youth, leading to higher dropout rates and larger learning deficits and further widening the existing inequality in education.

Education has received its fair share of the pandemic’s impact and research has estimated that the earnings losses at all levels of education could be even higher than initial estimates. They have to balance these great economic impacts when setting a funding level to be used in addressing the loss due to COVID-19 on Education. The world was already off track for meeting Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and high-quality primary and secondary education.

Europe stands as a typical example after countries like Greece and Spain had their budgets cut, school classes became packed with learners. In the United States, many states have experienced a budget squeeze which in turn reduces funding for educational services, especially in developing states (National Centre for Education Statistics, 2022).[4] Likewise, the countries of the Global South including Nigeria and Kenya have suffered from insufficient funding, which has led to overcrowded classrooms and lower supplies (World Bank, 2021).[5]

Currently, South Africa is going through education budget cuts due to a lack of economic growth, as explained by Siviwe Gwarube, the Minister of Basic Education of South Africa. These Budget cuts will affect not only learners’ resources but also the teachers’ posts available. It said that the available teaching posts would be reduced by 2400 in the Western Cape province,[6] However, this is also with more job losses expected in other provinces. Sibongile Kwazi, the SADTU Western Cape member, explains that teachers who will be retrenched will be contract workers, not the ones who are permanent educators. The reduction in South Africa's education budget is indicative of a worrying trend in which short-term financial constraints are given precedence over long-term future investments. Reducing teaching positions degrades school quality and creates instability in the teaching industry, particularly among contract workers. This might result in less support for students and larger class sizes, which would ultimately impact academic results. The nurturing of the next generation should not be sacrificed in the name of economic progress.

As a result of Budget cuts, governments of the world over have put in place several measures to mitigate the impacts. Some have tried to cut funding from another sector while others have been blocked by civil activist groups that press for conformity with global education benchmarks. For example, in South Africa, an organization called Equal Education escalated its efforts to force the government to spend enough on education pointing to law policy, and advocacy. Budget cuts suffered in education do not only impact individual classrooms but also impose costly repercussions. Cutting down on spending for education prejudices economic development stalls poverty eradication and restricts upward social mobility. Lack of educational attainment will cost a nation in terms of productivity and bringing creativity to the fore to compete in the world market. OECD’s findings note that there is a 10% increase in earnings for every extra year of schooling (OECD, 2018).[7] Thus, neglecting education funding does not only undermine individual potential but also stifles national development.

Several measures can be advised to reduce the adverse effects of education budget cuts.

1. Legal Advocacy: Ensure that governments deliver on their legal financial responsibilities of supporting education to create awareness for campaigns. Great extent civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can aid in holding governments to account.

2. Public Awareness Campaigns: We need to mobilize the public on the need to support funding to educational sectors in a bid to revive the funds. Dialogue with the communities can therefore put emphasis on the positive role of education in the development of societies.

3. Targeted Investments: Fund development to effective implementation of quality education to the needy or rather the deserving groups. This also involves putting into practice procedures that will ensure funding for the schools that have been starved.

4. International Cooperation: Promote international cooperation in the approaches and materials that are used to increase educational financing. Forums like UNESCO can open channels for the sharing of information and come up with new models for financing education.

The cut of education budgets presents major difficulties in a variety of countries, jeopardizing the education rights and prospects of millions of children. Legal awareness and campaign for adequate funding form the basis to give all people an equal chance to quality education is important. It is significant to bear in mind that despite all the mentioned difficulties, we are investing in education as investing in the future of a better and equalized society.

References:

1. Irwin V, De La Rosa J, NCES et al ‘Condition of Education 2022’ NCES (2022) https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2022144 accessed 08 October 2024.

2. OECD ‘Education at Glance’ OECD (2018) https://doi.org/10.1787/eag-2018-en accessed 08 October 2024.

3. Roland Lee Swink, Muhammad Shamsul Huq ‘Education’ Britannica (2024) https://www.britannica.com/topic/education accessed 06 October 2024.

4. Sakinah Samuels ‘Education’ The skills portal (2024) https://www.skillsportal.co.za/news/minister-explains-how-budget-cuts-will-impact-education-south-africa accessed 9 October 2024.

5. UNESCO ‘Global Education and Monitoring’ UNESCO (2020) https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/global-education-monitoring-gem-report-2020# accessed 08 October 2024.

6. UNESCO ‘One Year into COVID-19 Education disruption: Where do we stand’ (2021) UNESCO https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/one-year-covid-19-education-disruption-where-do-we-stand accessed 9 October 2024.

7. World Bank Group ‘Two-Thirds of Poorer Countries are cutting Education Budgets Due to Covid-19’https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/02/22/two-thirds-of-poorer-countries-are-cutting-education-budgets-due-to-covid-19 accessed 9 October 2024.

[1] Roland Lee Swink, Muhammad Shamsul Huq ‘Education’ Britannica (2024) https://www.britannica.com/topic/education accessed on 06 October 2024.

[2] XX ‘Global Education Monitoring’ UNESCO (2020) https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/global-education-monitoring-gem-report-2020# accessed on 08 October 2024.

[3] UNESCO ‘One Year into COVID-19 Education disruption: Where do we stand’ (2021) UNESCO https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/one-year-covid-19-education-disruption-where-do-we-stand accessed 9 October 2024.

[4] Irwin V, De La Rosa J, NCES et al ‘Condition of Education 2022’ NCES (2022) https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2022144 accessed 08 October 2024.

[5] World Bank Group ‘Two-Thirds of Poorer Countries are cutting Education Budgets Due to Covid-19’ https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/02/22/two-thirds-of-poorer-countries-are-cutting-education-budgets-due-to-covid-19 accessed 9 October 2024.

[6]Sakinah Samuels ‘Education’ The skills portal (2024) https://www.skillsportal.co.za/news/minister-explains-how-budget-cuts-will-impact-education-south-africa accessed 9 October 2024.

[7] OECD ‘Education at Glance’ OECD (2018) https://doi.org/10.1787/eag-2018-en accessed 08 October 2024.