Sida's work with education
Going to school is a human right and a cornerstone for poverty reduction, democracy and equality. It is also crucial for economic development. Sida works to ensure that every child in the world can attend school and to strengthen education systems in our partner countries, from primary school to higher education and lifelong learning.
Why do Sida work with education?
Fewer girls in school after the pandemic
1.5 billion pupils and students in 190 countries have been affected by school closures related to the pandemic.1 Over 11 million girls are at risk of not returning to school after the pandemic.2
Global learning crisis
There is an ongoing global learning crisis, worsened by the pandemic. Before the pandemic, around 125 million children lacked basic literacy and numeracy skills after four years of schooling.3
Many children are prevented from going to school
Poverty, conflict, humanitarian crises, child marriage and disability prevent 258 million children from attending school.5 Child marriage and teenage pregnancy contribute to fewer girls than boys finishing primary school and continuing to secondary school.6
Examples of what Sida has contributed to
More children go to school
The proportion of children in the world starting primary school has increased rapidly and now stands at around 90 per cent. More girls are attending school today than ever before, and more continue to study after primary school.7
Free education
Education reforms for free schooling are helping to get more children into school, but government funding for education isn’t increasing at the same rate as needs.
Access to water and toilets
More schools than ever before have access to water and toilets, but in sub-Saharan Africa, a third of all schools still lack toilets and access to clean water.8
Sida's work on education
Education plays a central role in global poverty reduction. Education strengthens people’s access to health and financial security. Education is a human right that creates the conditions for building more equal and democratic societies. Education is also crucial in preventing conflicts and reducing the risk of a country falling back into conflict.
Sida helps to strengthen education systems and remove the barriers that prevent children from attending school. Sida’s support targets the most vulnerable children. In particular, Sida contributes to equal and equitable education for children with disabilities and girls. Girls’ access to education is crucial for poverty reduction and long-term sustainable development.
Sida supports projects that provide children with access to free, safe and secure learning environments and quality education from primary to secondary school.
Today, half of the world’s children of primary school age are in 50 conflict and crisis-affected countries.9 This means that children often are prevented from attending school due to security risks. In conflict areas and in low-income countries, schools are often in poor condition, lacking toilets on the school grounds or are far away from the nearest functioning school.
Another reason for poor schooling is that many countries’ school systems have a shortage of teachers and classrooms. This often leads to classes being too large. This is making it difficult to improve the quality of teaching. Sida supports projects to increase children’s access to a safe and functional school where students can achieve their learning goals. Here are some examples of projects and programmes that Sida supports:
Sida’s support in Afghanistan targets the children most affected by the conflict. Children with disabilities who have never started school and children who have been forced to drop out of school. The situation for girls and women has deteriorated dramatically by limiting their rights to education, labour and freedom of movement. Girls have been deprived of the right to secondary education and by the end of 2022 have also been banned from attending university.10
Sida supports alternative education opportunities through civil society organisations, including Save the Children (RB), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the Swedish Afghanistan Committee (SAK) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Through Save the Children,14,000 children from pre-school to grade 3 have been able to attend school and 343 village schools and pre-schools have been established. Families and religious leaders are involved in the schools and have gained a better understanding of the importance of education for both boys and girls. Through the programmes, Sida has also contributed to the further training of 400 teachers for the deaf and visually impaired. Psychosocial support in teaching is also included.
36.5 million children are displaced around the world.11 Half of these children lack access to education, mainly at secondary level.12 Through support to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Sida promotes the right of all children to go to school. This has led to more children attending school in Syria, for example.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the main reason for children not attending school is discrimination and poverty. The lower value of girls and women in society means that fewer girls than boys attend school. Investing in girls’ education is important for reducing poverty. When girls attend school, child marriages, teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence decrease.
Children with disabilities growing up in fragile or conflict-affected communities often lack the opportunity to participate in education.
A free school is essential to give more children access to education. Education is a human right and all primary education should be free, so that all children can participate. Sida supports projects that enable more girls and children with disabilities to receive free primary education on equal terms. Here are some examples of projects and programmes that we support:
Teenage pregnancies are common in Tanzania. Until 2022, an estimated 6,500 girls were forced to drop out of school each year due to pregnancy.13 Through pressure from Sida, other donors and civil society, the Tanzanian government has changed its policies. Now young mothers can continue their education. The changes have contributed to increased gender equality in the education system. But dropping out of school is still a major problem for young mothers.
Through Karibu Tanzania Organisation (KTO), Sida supports young pregnant women and mothers to complete their education. In 2022, the organisation expanded its activities from 41 to 54 community colleges in a programme targeting girls and young women who have dropped out of school. The programme enables girls to continue their education, find a livelihood and regain their self-esteem.
Low levels of knowledge about early pregnancy, gender-based violence and child marriage affect the education of young girls in many countries. Through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future programme, Sida supports efforts to increase education in sexual and reproductive health.
About Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future on the UNESCO website
More than 70 per cent of children in South Sudan, mostly girls, do not attend school.14 About 30 per cent of schools are destroyed, closed or used for other activities due to the conflict or flooding. 8 out of 10 women cannot read, write or count. This is one of the highest figures in the world. However, since 2014, the number of girls attending school has increased from 18% to 48% in 2021.15
With support from Sida, Save the Children is working to provide boys and girls in two regions with access to safe, equitable and quality education. 13,000 girls and boys have so far gained access to safe education. The number of teachers has increased and they have access to professional development.
Sida contributes to vocational training in South Sudan through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Vocational Training Programme in South Sudan. The programme enables 15,000 young women and men to attend vocational training courses to strengthen their capacity to earn a living. Through Save the Children, Sida’s support has contributed to a safe education for nearly 13,000 girls and boys. Sex education is included in the programmes. Sida also contributes to increasing literacy and technical skills through Oxfam.
Every year, 12 million girls are married off before the age of 18.16 The school closures during the pandemic have led to an increase in the number of child marriages and teenage pregnancies. Sida supports Girls Not Brides – a global organisation that highlights child marriage as a hindrance to girls’ education and stresses the importance of girls going to school.
Research shows that the longer a girl stays in school, the lower the risk of child marriage. And secondary education is a much stronger protection against child marriage than primary education. The likelihood of a girl marrying before she turns 18 decreases (by six per cent) for each additional year of secondary education.
In 2022, Sida’s aid to education amounted to SEK 696 million, which corresponds to approximately 3 per cent of the total aid provided by Sida. Sida has two prioritised goals in its work for education:
- Well-functioning national education systems.
- Achieving free and equal primary and secondary education for all.
- Number of students affected by school closures during the pandemic on the UNESCO website
- Number of girls at risk of not returning to school after the pandemic on UNESCO website
- Statistics on the number of refugee children in the world, 2022 on the UNHCR website.
- Statistics on the number of refugee children without education on the UNHCR website.
- Statistics on out-of-school children on the website of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
- Number of girls at risk of not returning to school after the pandemic on UNESCO website
- Girls in school on the UNICEF website
- Percentage of schools without access to toilets and clean water in sub-Saharan Africa on the Water Aid website.
- Statistics on children’s access to education on the UNESCO website
- The situation of girls and women in Afghanistan 2023 on the UNESCO website
- About the global refugee crisis on the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) website
- Statistics on the number of out-of-school children and young people on the UNESCO website
- About teenage pregnancy in Tanzania on the Human Rights Watch (HRW) website.
- Statistics proportion of out-of-school girls in South Sudan on UNICEF website
- About the education situation in South Sudan on the UNICEF website
- Child marriage statistics on the UNICEF website
Updated: July 21, 2023