Assessing UK aid’s results in education

A results review that assesses the impact, effectiveness and equity of UK aid on education, with a particular focus on girl’s education.

Score: Green/Amber
  1. Status: Completed
  2. Published: 27 April 2022
  3. Type: Results review
  4. Subject: Education
  5. Assessment: Green/Amber
  6. Location: Bangladesh, Rwanda, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Zimbabwe
  7. Lead commissioner: Tarek Rouchdy
  8. SDGs covered:Quality education, Gender equality

Read the approach paper

Our approach

The review covers DFID/FCDO’s global education portfolio since 2015, including assessing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent cuts to the UK aid budget on its impact. It focuses on primary and lower secondary education, as these were key areas of DFID’s 2018 education policy.

The review covers bilateral, centrally managed, multilateral (core contributions and ‘multi-bi’ programmes) and humanitarian spending. We consider girls’ education in particular as we answer the review questions. This review reflects largely on work carried out by the former DFID but makes recommendations for the FCDO to take forward.

The review builds on previous ICAI work reviewing UK aid for education, particularly marginalised and disadvantaged girls, but looks at education results more generally. This review also builds on ICAI’s review of DFID’s approach to disability in development, published in 2018, which examined DFID’s programming in five sectors, including education.

Review questions

We sought to answer the following review questions:

  1. Effectiveness: How effective is DFID/FCDO aid to education in delivering its intended results?
  2. Equity: To what extent are DFID/FCDO’s education interventions reaching the most marginalised?
  3. Impact: To what extent is DFID/FCDO achieving sustainable impact through its aid to education?

 

Timeline

Approach

Published 6 September

Evidence gathering

Complete

Review publication

Published 27 April 2022

Government response

Published 9 June 2022

ICAI follow-up

Published 18 July 2023