Early Childhood Education: Considerations for Programming - Sustainability

Governance and financing of early childhood education are complex, involving multiple actors, levels, objectives, and approaches, from general expansion of education access to targeted coverage of the most underserved. Coordination of actors and local community engagement in early childhood education are important dimensions in the governance and sustainability of early childhood education, above and beyond specific financing sources and arrangements. To adequately fund the early childhood education sector, UNICEF proposes guidelines for governments of 1.0% of GDP, and the International Labour Organization proposed a standard of 10% of total government expenditures. The table below presents available recent data on countries' government expenditures on early childhood education relative to GDP and to total government expenditure on education. Government Expenditure on Early Childhood Education and Percent of Enrollment in Private Institutions Bangladesh has no data on government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP or total government education expenditure. However, 41.8% of pre-primary enrollment is in nongovernment institutions. Cambodia's government expenditure on pre-primary education is 0.05% of GDP and 2.6% of total government education expenditure, with 14.7% of pre-primary enrollment in nongovernment institutions. India's government expenditure on pre-primary education is 0.06% of GDP and 1.5% of total government education expenditure, with 75.4% of pre-primary enrollment in nongovernment institutions. The degree of government spending on early childhood education does not always translate into progressive provision or sound stewardship. Countries with more modest levels of government spending on early childhood education may still practice progressive programming. Both government and nongovernment financing through block grants, conditional cash transfers, and community-based approaches have been applied in limited but promising efforts to orient resources in a progressive manner. Effective governance is key in early childhood education work, particularly since multiple actors are often involved, including multiple ministries and a wide range of providers. Delivering quality early childhood education to more and more children demands sound decisions relating to standards, objectives, and programs that are both technically and contextually appropriate, effective oversight of the observance of standards, and planned and careful coordination of the resources and actions of the range of actors and stakeholders. The following table presents the various governance structures that are involved in the decision making and oversight of early childhood education in the respective countries. Governance Structures That Oversee Early Childhood Education Decisions Bangladesh has a Ministry of Primary and Mass Education and a Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, with other key ministries involved including the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Social Welfare. Cambodia has a Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport that oversees the National Committee for Early Childhood Care and Development, which consists of 14 cross-cutting ministries. India has a Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Implementing multisectoral policy and managing a plurality of both government and nongovernment actors call for effective mechanisms of coordination. Countries may opt to identify a specific ministry to take on coordination of actions for a given age group, or establish cross-ministerial coordinating committees or task forces. Effective coordination across ministries can be difficult, however, as shown in Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, and Tajikistan. ECE in many countries is substantially, and in some cases predominantly, funded and supported by nongovernment actors. India and Indonesia have very high proportions of nongovernment sector participation in the provision of early childhood education programming, followed by Bangladesh and Nepal. With such a range of actors, opportunities for innovation as well as exploitation call for effective governance, oversight, and coordination.