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What Age Should Be the Focus of Funding?

UNESCO Policy Brief on Early Childhood #23, "Early Education Financing:  What is Useful to Know?", written by John Bennett, addresses the many issues of public financing of pre-K services.  One issue it addresses is the decision to focus on the early years or the later years of the educational system.  The report observes...

"In many countries, funding to each child in primary education is 1.5 times greater than similar funding in early education, although younger children need more favorable child/staff ratios.  What is more surprising is that funding per university student is generally five or six times greater than for a child in a early education service, although the economic and educational returns from investing in young children are well proven.  This difference in funding may be an inheritance from the past when education was conceived in rather elitist terms, with little early education and a powerful university sector.  Today, it seems more equitable that public funding should be allocated to the base of the educational pyramid rather than to its apex, although it is clear that governments may need at times to stimulate through funding an increase of graduates in certain fields.  Recent experience in Australia suggests that free education at the tertiary level may be inefficient in economic terms, as charging student fees seems to have little effect on enrollments if appropriate student loans are put into place.  If such is the case, a gradual shifting of government investment toward the foundation stage of lifelong learnng may take place in future years."

To read this full policy brief, go to: http://mail.ccie.com/go/eed/0248

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