The latest UN statistics continue to highlight one of the major reasons
for Africa's failure to compete in the global economy: a poorly
educated population arising from a failure of African governments to
focus resources on this sector. Whilst a few countries spend in excess
of $500 per child per annum, many of Africa's laggards have been
spending only between $30 - $40 per child per annum. South Africa, at
$1522 in 2012 easily outstrips all other nations in Africa in education
spending. The DRC in
2010 spent just $12 per child on education. This huge gap, magnified
further when compared to advanced Western countries, renders much of
Africa's workforce, now and for some time to come, uncompetitive
compared to the rest of the world.
In earlier times one could argue that much of the disparity
between Africa and the rest of the world reflected differences in wage
rates rather than a real difference in the quality of education. In
other words in those days whereas a teacher in the UK might have been
earning $1000 per month, a teacher of the same quality in Africa might
have been earning $100, say. They were both delivering the same quality
of education to their pupils, but the UK government was spending 10
times more for it than their African counterparts. Today this arguement
is trumped by the global village. The
teacher in Africa is motivated by the same needs and desires as the
teacher in the US or UK. He has satellite pictures beamed into
his home showing how his counterparts in the West live. He has
friends and relations who have travelled to and worked in all parts of
the globe. He is bombarded by a continuing stream of commercial
enticements as he goes about his daily routine. He sees others in his
community, even former pupils, building nice houses and riding in
luxury cars. Private education, primary, secondary and tertiary, has
flourished, bringing riches to many within it and enticing teachers
within the public school system. These conditions existed to a far
smaller extent thirty or forty years ago. In those days many teachers
would be content with the prestige of their profession, the opportunity
for modest promotion and a dignified retirement. For this, they would
give of their best. Not so today.
Government Spernding per Student,
Constant US$
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Ghana
154
163
149
-----
368
----
-----
Gambia
28
78
----
107
94
92
----
Sierra Leone
----
-----
-----
-----
40
43
40
Source: Unesco Institute of Statistics
---- means figures not available
African countries have reacted differently to the changing times.
Some
high income countries, such as South Africa have maintained relatively
high spending on education. Other countries, even though not high
earners, have prioritized education and have spent a high percentage of
their budget on it. In this way they have been able to maintain
relatively high absolute spending. The worst performing countries not
only have low incomes, but have chosen to spend a low percentage of
their budget on education.
In anglophone West Africa, our conclusions are unchanged from the
last time we
analyzed education spending. Then, we
compared education spending per
country as a percentage of government expenditure. Here, we compare
absolute education spending in constant dollars. Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra
Leone, Gambia and Liberia are the member states of the West African
Examinations Council, WAEC. Their pupils sit a common school leaving
examination, the WASSCE, at the end of their secondary education. The
WASSCE is a crucial output indicator for anglophone West African
education, as it is the only common, standardized examination taken on
a large scale by candidates from all the countries.
The
WASSCE is a crucial output
indicator. Government spending on education is a crucial input indicator. There
are no figures for Nigeria or Liberia from UNESCO. At $368 in 2011,
Ghana spent nearly TEN times as much per pupil as Sierra Leone,
which is close to the bottom of the education spenders in Africa.
Gambia, not normally thought of as an education powerhouse, managed to
boost its education spending from just $28 per child in 2007 to $92 per
child in 2012.