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.
Latest news
We conducted an assessment of UK aid’s results in education and made five recommendations designed to help the government focus on achieving better quality learning to help tackle the global learning crisis. We have since followed up on the government’s progress implementing our recommendations. Find out more on the ‘Further scrutiny‘ tab.
Summary
The UK government has made successive commitments to global education, especially to girls’ education. The former Department for International Development’s (DFID) 2018 education policy stated that “education is a human right which unlocks individual potential and benefits all of society, powering sustainable development”. In May 2021, the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) (which includes the former DFID) published its ‘action plan’ for girls’ education, in which it committed to “re-double” its efforts as a champion of girls’ education. In 2021, the UK also co-hosted a Global Partnership for Education replenishment summit to urge world leaders to invest in getting children into school, and girls’ education was a central theme of the UK’s Presidency of the G7.
The purpose of this review was to assess the results of the FCDO and former DFID’s work on education, particularly for girls.
Sustainable Development Goals
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals relevant to this review are:
