Volume and Equity – Ethiopia: Driving sustainable education financing

• In Event: Roundtable Session 5
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: From policy to practice: leveraging incentive-based financing to ensure sustainable education financing

Proposal

Sustainable financing for education requires planning beyond the short term. Policies such as expanding early learning or introducing free education, as well as demographic changes, create long-term resource needs. It is therefore essential to ensure stable funding for key areas including teacher salaries, school infrastructure, and system maintenance. This involves estimating future needs, identifying reliable funding sources, and aligning investments with national priorities, using evidence-based arguments to secure commitment from finance authorities.
To address the funding gap in general education, Ethiopia is launching an innovative General Education Trust Fund Development Strategy. This strategy goes beyond traditional government allocations, aiming to mobilize additional domestic resources through partnerships with local communities, the private sector, and charitable organizations - turning education financing into a shared national effort. Ethiopia is also leveraging the GPE domestic financing incentive, which links the release of funds to the achievement of agreed targets, namely the launch of the General Education Trust Fund Development Strategy. By tying resources to concrete results, this approach not only motivates effective implementation but also ensures that additional funding drives sustainable, results - focused investments in education over the long term.

(Panelist from the Ministry of Education is in the process of confirming participation and will be confirmed shortly)

Author

• Abraham Mengistu, Ministry of Education