Financial resources and capacity development

　　19． Pledges by the donor community, estimated by the OECD to amount to US$50 billion per annum by 2010, including the announcement by the G8 and the Development Committee of the World Bank to increase and accelerate debt relief, should result in significant benefits for education．  We urge that these promises be translated into real resources  and that education receive the high priority that it deserves, within the country’s overall development and poverty reduction strategy． We recognise that to achieve the UPE goal by 2015 all students must be enrolled in school by 2008．  We recommend that:

　　-Countries increase the proportion of national budgets allocated to basic education to meet the scale and the scope of the national EFA challenge as expressed in the national education plan．

　　-Within an increased budget, countries and EFA partners raise significantly the percentage devoted to adult literacy and continuing education． The GMR estimates that US$2．5 billion per year will be needed to make significant progress towards the EFA literacy goal．

　　-Countries should work with EFA partners to progressively remove both formal and informal school fee barriers, so as to enable all children, and in particular girls, to attend and complete primary schooling by 2015． They should also provide appropriate incentives to the poorest families, such as school grants, to support their children’s education．

　　-In order to improve their capacity to maintain quality while absorbing the impact of enhanced enrolments, FTI and EFA partners will need to give prompt and long-term support to governments of developing countries which take these bold initiatives．

　　-Donors should close the external funding gap for EFA by making all efforts to double current levels of ODA to education and, in line with the needs identified in the GMR, give higher priority to basic education． Also in accordance with the GMR, particular emphasis should be given to the education needs of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia．

　　-FTI be expanded as a means of mobilising additional funds and technical assistance, as well as a forum for donor coordination and policy dialogue． Funds will be allocated according to national priorities articulated in education sector plans and aligned with sound public financial frameworks, for all low-income countries including fragile states．

　　-EFA partners explore the potential of such new and innovative financing mechanisms as may be adopted, for example, an International Finance Facility, an airline solidarity tax and debt swaps, for mobilising resources for EFA．

　　-Aid be made more effective, in the education sector, in accordance with the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: Harmonisation, Alignment, Results and Mutual Accountability, with FTI  serving as a mechanism to promote good practice, and donors  harmonising their administrative and budgetary procedures, with the aim of ensuring effective implementation of national plans and reducing the burden on partner countries．

　　-EFA partners ensure that adequate attention is given to further building the capacity of countries to monitor and evaluate progress in EFA, including the collection and use of disaggregated and improved data which capture sub-national realities, as evidence for formulating policy and documenting good practices at the country and regional levels．