A Simple Guide to Working with Finances in Education - Tanzania ...

1. Achieving Education for All -where is the money going to come from?In many countries there is a problem with a ‘finance gap’ in education. This is thedifference between the actual money available and what is needed to obtain areasonable quality and quantity of education.There is a limited range of things which can be done to obtain the money to pay forEducation for All (EFA). Not all of them are feasible or desirable, but it is necessary toknow what the options are if we are going to be part of the discussions aboutprioritising what can be done. The options chosen need to be appropriate to thesocial, economic, political and cultural context of the country.The options include:1.1 Getting more money…This can be done through:• expanding tax income, including through new taxes• promoting private schools. These could be ‘for profit’ or ‘not for profit’such as those run by NGOs• increasing household and community contributions• donor aid and debt relief1.2 Redistributing the money that is there….In many countries, expenditure on primary or basic education accounts for a relativelysmall proportion of total expenditure. In this situation, redistribution is often advocated:• between sector (eg. reducing military expenditure andincreasing education spending)• between sub-sectors of education (eg. frompost-primary to primary, as more childrenaccess primary education than higher levels)‘How do you choose between gunsand books?’‘Higher education is much more, expensivethan primary: which has the greaterimpact on poverty eradication?’• within the primary level (e.g. from formal to nonformaleducation, where non-formal programme arecheaper or more efficient than ordinary schools)• between different types of institution (e.g. allowingmore private schools to open)1