By Sophie Edwards
LONDON — The global education sector, long neglected according to some experts, could be set for transformation with the emergence of a string of new funds and financing instruments launching this year. But while the funds have the potential to channel much-needed money into learning, some development experts are asking whether their sudden proliferation risks fragmenting the sector, or duplicating efforts.
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Yasmine Sherif, executive director of ECW, agreed: “We don’t look at fragmentation, we look at comparative advantage … [Each organization] needs to focus on what it’s good [at] and work together.”
She also pointed out that the yawning funding gap for education makes it unlikely that proliferation or duplication is the problem.
“I can say with absolute conviction the challenge is not that we’re duplicating each other, the challenge is we’re not doing enough,” she said, adding that the global education sector should learn from other sectors, including global health and climate change, which have multiple players and funds.
But others aren’t so sure. Owen Barder, vice president at the Center for Global Development, said that in general there is “excessive proliferation … and insufficient consolidation” in the development space, particularly when it comes to health and education.
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