Devex spoke to Winnie Byanyima, the head of Oxfam International, after she took part in a panel session organized during the annual World Bank/IMF meetings in Washington, D.C. recently. The session drew heavily from the World Bank’s new World Development Report, titled "Learning to Realize Education’s Promise," launched last month. Byanyima is calling for more public education funding.

The report refers to a widespread “learning crisis” where despite spending several years in school, millions of children cannot read or write, and concludes that in many low-income countries “schooling is not the same as learning.” The WDR finds that better learning outcomes will come if schools have better management, children have access to early childhood care and nutrition, and better teacher training and support programs are offered.

The World Development Report actually shows that there is a link between resourcing and learning outcomes and yet what we see is the World Bank and other donors shifting away from the tried and tested and sure way of providing education through access to quality public education. Instead, they are now looking for more fashionable options like giving money to private, usually commercial, low-cost schools which have not been tested. The bank’s own research shows that there is no evidence that private education leads to better outcomes, and so we need the donors to put more of their aid into education, and not be tempted to go to private sector operators.

Read the full article by Sophie Edwards about education funding on Devex International Development.