Financing Foundational Learning: Reallocating Resources for Equity and System Efficiency

• In Event: Decolonizing Finance: Shifting Power for Educational Equity

Proposal

In an era of constrained resources and profound learning crises, this presentation argues that the most strategic approach to education finance is a fundamental reorientation towards equity and foundational learning. Moving beyond incremental adjustments, this approach requires transforming spending patterns to directly address historical inequities and maximize the impact of every dollar spent. Analysis of data from over 100 countries reveals that such a reallocation is not merely an ethical imperative but the most effective pathway to system-wide efficiency.

Confronting the false dichotomy between equity and efficiency, we demonstrate that targeting resources to the most marginalized learners and to foundational literacy and numeracy yields the greatest marginal returns. Investing in these core areas builds a robust educational base for the entire student population and creates a virtuous cycle: evidence of success, such as the potential to lift millions of children out of learning poverty through pro-poor allocation, builds public trust and political will, thereby mobilizing further resources for effective interventions.

This presentation will outline the practical fiscal and policy mechanisms that enable this transformative shift. Drawing on comparative cross-country evidence, we will discuss how governments can design financing formulas and accountability systems that proactively direct funding to where it is needed most and where it can achieve the greatest learning gains. This process empowers communities by ensuring that all children, regardless of background, acquire the fundamental skills necessary to steer their own development and contribute to their nation’s progress. Ultimately, equitable financing for foundational learning is presented as the cornerstone for building effective, resilient, and inclusive education systems.

Author

• Haogen Yao, UNICEF