EDUCATION BUDGET SWAZILAND 2017/2018 HEADLINE MESSAGES. Swaziland

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1 Swaziland EDUCATION BUDGET SWAZILAND 217/218 Schermbrucker/ UNICEF Swaziland 217 HEADLINE MESSAGES During 217/18 financial year, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) was allocated E3.45 billion, representing 16.9% of the total budget and 6% of GDP. Allocative efficiency in public expenditure for the education sector is low with personnel costs representing the single largest cost in the education budget, crowding out capital investments across the education sub-sectors. Inequalities exist in the education sector there are fewer numbers of children in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), a bulge in primary education and a bottleneck in secondary school, affecting the returns on the government s Free Primary Education, and overall outcomes for children and the country. The level of investment in primary education needs to be matched by corresponding investments in ECCE and secondary education. Real investment is needed to address the infrastructure gaps in secondary and ECCE, including teacher training and in-service training, in line with new curriculum developments.

2 INTRODUCTION This brief is part of four Budget Briefs that analyse the 217/18 National Budget and its implications on the needs and well-being of children in Swaziland. This brief focuses on the education sector by unpacking the allocation towards the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET). The other briefs focus on social and child protection, health, and the overall budget, which gives a general overview of the socio-economic situation in Swaziland. Through this kind of analysis, the MoET, together with UNICEF and partners, can use the evidence to advocate improved budgeting that addresses bottlenecks in public financing management for enhanced fiscal space, quality, transparency and equity of spending for better results for children. Education Sector Overview Swaziland has taken significant steps in the past decade to highlight the education of its children as a top national priority. The education of Swazi children is one of the key goals under the Sustainable Development Goals Goal 4 that the government is fully pursuing 1. The Constitution of Swaziland has already declared education as a right for every child in the country. It also states that primary education should be free and compulsory. Following this, the government has put in place several policies and legislation e.g. the Free Primary Education (FPE) Act of 21, which provides school grants, free teaching and learning materials, qualified teachers, infrastructure and nutritious meals for learners. The MoET is the principal agent that oversees the government budget towards education. This investment by Government is supplemented by the contribution of private institutions, which include parents, private organisations and the donor community. Whilst acknowledging the important role played by the nonpublic sector, data was not available for this analysis. Key Child Education Indicators The Government of Swaziland has made significant progress in achieving better education outcomes for its children. Evidence, as presented in the Annual Education Census Reports, shows that a number of the education indicators have improved. This has been made possible through concerted budget and policy support. However, a lot more still needs to be done to improve school readiness and keep the children in school until the final grades to achieve better outcomes for the children and the country. School readiness, measuring the number of children attending Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) remains very low, averaging 41.8% in 215, (Figure 1). The insufficient focus and support for ECCE remains a big source of inequality, affecting outcomes. It means 58.2% of the children enter primary school when they are not ready for school. Not surprisingly, the highest number of school repeaters is in the first grade of primary school. The importance of ECCE cannot be overemphasised as it is linked to learning, school completion, skills development, and acquisition of academic competencies and non-academic success. Children who enter school ready to learn are more likely to stay in school and succeed at school. At 58.2%, the share of children who enter primary school without passing through ECCE, is very high, and affects their overall performance in school. This is mainly given that ECCE in Swaziland is largely in the hands of the private sector, with little 1 % 8 % 6 % 4 % 2 % % ECCDE Primary Lower Secondary Upper Secondary FIGURE 1: Trends in Net Enrolment Rates Source: Annual Education Census (AEC) Report SDG Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all 2

3 217 Education Budget Brief Schermbrucker/ UNICEF Swaziland 217 financial support from the government. The cost, and distance, are major barriers to children attending ECCE. The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (214) (MICS) shows that only 27% of children from the poorest wealth quintile attended ECCE compared to 48.4% from the richest quintile, demonstrating the level of inequality. Primary education indicators remain impressively high and are improving, owing mainly to the introduction of the Free Primary Education (FPE) Act (21). In terms of enrolment, Net Enrolment Rates (NER) in primary school have consistently been above 9%, reaching 94.4% in 215 (Figure 1), mainly due to the government s FPE. What remains, however, is the need for continuous improvements in the quality of primary education and the ensuring of equity and inclusivity, given that some parents prefer sending their children to private schools where the quality is considered better. The low enrolment rates into secondary school point to the inequalities existing in the sector, thereby affecting outcomes for children and the impact of the government s investment in primary education. For instance, NER into lower secondary education averaged 27.7% in 215, falling further, to below 15% for upper secondary school. Hence, whilst primary education is free, the cost for secondary education could be a major barrier to access. This implies that the FPE may not achieve its full objective of building a sustainable human capital base for the country if 88.2% of the children graduating from free primary education fail to enrol for upper secondary education. Thus, the education sector can be regarded as a leaking pipe, particularly regarding the enrolment rates from primary to secondary education. There are fewer children in ECCE, a bulge in primary education and a bottleneck in secondary education. Such a system is not supportive of the objective of building sustainable human capital. Hence, a holistic policy, backed by sufficient budgetary resources, is needed, to prepare children for school through ECCE, and support them through secondary education. The level of investment in primary education needs to be matched by corresponding investments in ECCE and secondary education. The net effect of not sufficiently investing in ECCE is the high rate of first grade repeaters, meaning the government will incur further expense to keep these repeaters in school, whereas the money could have been used in ECCE to prepare children for school. Equally, the low enrolment rates in secondary school mean that a lot of the investment in free primary education will not yield any meaningful results for the children and the country as they fail to reach upper secondary school. 3

4 EDUCATION AND TRAINING 217/18 BUDGET ANALYSIS Trends in Education Inflation Education inflation remained below headline inflation in 216, averaging 3.1%. The cost of education as measured by education inflation has been on a decline from 11.6% in 213 to 3.1% in 216, and is further projected to retreat to 2.7% in 217, (Figure 2). Despite outstripping overall inflation for the whole of 215, annual education inflation trended below the overall inflation. This means the cost of education has been increasing at a much lower rate than in the previous year. This can be a major positive impact on the government s efforts to improving access to education, particularly among the poor and marginalised children. The major drivers to the downward trend in education inflation has been primary and preschool education, benefiting from the government s FPE. On the other hand, pressure on education prices is mainly driven by secondary education, which trended above both overall and education (Figure 2). Budget Priorities for 217/18: Continue to support the Free Primary Education programme through the provision of school grants Provide free teaching and learning materials for primary education Provide qualified teachers across all sub-sectors Schermbrucker/ UNICEF Swaziland 217 Improve education infrastructure across all sub-sectors Provide nutritious meals for learners up to secondary school Cater for the education and welfare of marginalised, orphaned and vulnerable children. The Sector s Budget Allocation for 217 The MoET was allocated E3.45 billion, which is about 16.9% of the total budget and 6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Despite the total education allocation for 217/18 falling below the 2% Dakar Declaration target, it is higher than the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) average of 15.9% of total expenditure and 4.3% of GDP 2, compared to the 16.9% of total budget and 6% of GDP in Swaziland. The MoET s 217/18 allocation is the highest among the Top 1 Ministry Allocations (Figure 3). Composition of the 217/18 Budget Allocation Over the years, the MoET has been getting the highest allocation. However, 72.9% of the education budget goes to employment costs (Figure 4a). There is, therefore, need to strike a balance between personnel costs and spending in other important investments that have a bearing on the overall quality of education, such as school infrastructure and learning materials. Capital expenditures were allocated E million, 4% of the ministry s total budget. Thus, concerning capital expenditure, the MoET ranks eighth (Figure 4b). Whilst the need to adequately remunerate the teachers is acknowledged, there is the need to strike a balance by ensuring that children have enough learning materials and suitable infrastructure to make the learning environment conducive to better education outcomes. 2. Estimates obtained from Mozambique 215 Education Budget Brief, UNICEF Mozambique Country Office 4

5 217 Education Budget Brief 2, Overall Education Pre-Primary & Primary Education Secondary Education 15, 1, 5, -5, -1, -15, -2, JAN 15 MAR 15 MAY 15 JUL 15 SEP 15 NOV 15 JAN 16 MAY 16 JUL 16 SEP 16 NOV 16 JAN 17 MAR 17 FIGURE 2: Trends in Education Inflation Source: SCSO Database 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 Allocation Percentage of total ,5 2 EDUCATION PLC WORKS & TRANSPORT HEALTH ECONOMIC PLANNING & DEV DEFENCE POLICE AGRICULTURE SWAZI NAT TREASURY FOREIGN AFFAIRS & INT COOP FINANCE FIGURE 3: Ranking of the Top 1 Ministry Allocations Source: Estimates of Expenditure Book for 217/18 Employment 72,9 % Other Recurent 23,1 % Capital 4, % FIGURE 4A: Composition of Education and Training 217/18 Budget Allocation Source: Estimates of Expenditure Book for 217/18 5

6 Schermbrucker/ UNICEF Swaziland 217 Sources of Education Financing in 217/ 18 The Government remains the major source of education financing. The 217/18 budget for education will be funded 99.6% from government resources, whilst only.4% will come from other sources, including loans and grants. In fact the education sector s share of external support has been low, accounting for only 4% in 216, compared to 47% for health 3. However, the.4% only relates to direct budgetary support and does not include off-budget support from donors that is going directly to programmes. Trends in Education and Training Budget Expenditure The 217/18 allocation towards Education and Training increased by 9.8% in nominal terms to E3.45 billion from E3.14 billion in 216/17. In real terms, expenditure in education is projected to increase by 1.8% to E3.4 billion in 217/18, and is expected to steadily increase to E3.3 billion in 218/19 (Figure 5a). Despite the expected increase in allocation for 217 to 219, spending is expected to remain below the 2% Dakar Declaration target and the UNESCO 2% threshold recommended in its Global Education Monitoring Report for 215. The composition of education expenditures is increasingly skewed towards employment costs (Figure 5b). Education employment costs are expected to rise on account of the expected increase in the recruitment of qualified teachers to replace the 25% non-qualified staff. The rise in education employment is expected to have a crowding out effect on capital expenditure, which is expected to shrink from 21.4% in 216 to 4% in 217. The shrinking in the capital budget will have a negative effect on education infrastructure development, especially access and ultimately learning outcomes for children. Therefore, the allocative efficiency in public expenditure for the education sector is low. With wages expenditure being the single largest cost in the education budget, improvement in the expenditure mix can help make the sector more efficient. Composition of Education and Training Budget by Programme Primary education, received the largest share of the education sector s budget, accounting for 44.6% (Figure 6). This is mainly consistent with the government s FPE policy, which has also helped achieve a teacher-pupil ratio of 1:33 with about 75% of primary school teachers being appropriately qualified to teach at the primary education level. Thirty one per cent of the Education and Training budget was allocated towards secondary education, whilst teacher training and special education programmes were allocated 2.6% and.6%, respectively (Figure 6). Despite ECCE being a critical component of childhood development and better education outcomes, it was allocated only.1% of the budget. This is against the 3. Estimates of Expenditure Book for 217/18 6

7 217 Education Budget Brief 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 Allocation Percentage of total ,5 2 EDUCATION PLC WORKS & TRANSPORT HEALTH ECONOMIC PLANNING & DEV DEFENCE POLICE AGRICULTURE SWAZI NAT TREASURY FOREIGN AFFAIRS & INT COOP FINANCE FIGURE 4B: Top 1 Capital Allocations to Ministries Source: Estimates of Expenditure Book for 217/18 4, 25 FIGURE 5A: Trends in Education Expenditures Source: Estimates of Expenditure E Billions 3,5 3, 2,5 2, 1,5 1,, Per cent of Total Gvt Expenditures Book for /18 215/16 216/17 217/18 218/19 Nominal value Real value Share of Total 1 % 9 % 8 % 7 % 6 % 5 % 4 % FIGURE 5B: Composition of Economic Classification Source: Estimates of Expenditure Book for /18 3 % 2 % 1 % % 215/16 216/17 217/18 218/19 219/2 Employment Other Recurrent Capital 7

8 National Library Services Minister s Office Pre-School Education Career Guidance Adult Education Curriculum Development Special Education Technical & Vocational Education Teacher Training Ministry Administration Post Secondary Grants Secondary Education Primary Education FIGURE 6: Education and Training 217/18 Budget Composition Source: Estimates of Expenditure Book for 217/18 background of low enrolment rates in ECCE of 41.8% in 215. In addition, equitable budgeting requires that the budget makes budgetary provisions for children with special needs. However, the 217/18 budget allocated.6% of the total budget to the estimated 6,285 children 4 with special needs for both primary and secondary education. The structure in the composition of the Education and Training budget is the main source of inequalities in the education sector. Under the FPE, primary education has been getting the largest share of the ministry s budget (Figure 7), thereby contributing to higher enrolment rates. ECCE has also remained significantly underfunded, resulting in low enrolment rates already alluded to. Other key cross-cutting issues, such as career guidance and counselling, also remain underfunded at.2%, with most funding coming from development partners. In a country with 27% HIV prevalence and a significant number of learners living with HIV, at risk of acquiring HIV, or being orphaned, this is an issue that requires government financial support. The preschool education budget has been entirely recurrent for the period under review (Figure 8). This partly explains the weak child indicators in ECCE and will not help achieve the optimal returns on education. This, coupled with a very small budget averaging below E5 million, will continue to act as a barrier to ECCE and many children will remain excluded at this early age. Evidence suggests that for the greatest impact on a child s cognitive and physical development, focus should be on the early years of life the critical window. Hence, by not prioritising ECCE, the government, and indeed the country, is missing out on an important window of opportunity to build strong and educated children for future socioeconomic development. More resources are particularly needed in this sector especially with projections showing that in 217, 7.5% of children aged months will not be enrolled in ECCE. Whilst there have been attempts to train ECCE teachers, these have been absorbed into primary education, given the lack of government ECCE facilities. Despite primary education getting the largest share of the budget, most of it will be consumed by recurrent expenditures. Employment costs in primary education are projected to rise, progressively whittling down 4. Annual Education Census (AEC) Report 215 8

9 217 Education Budget Brief 1 % 9 % 8 % 7 % 6 % 5 % 4 % 3 % 2 % 1 % % 215/16 216/17 217/18 218/19 219/2 Minister s Office Ministry Administration Primary Education Secondary Education Curriculum Development National Library Services Career Guidance Technical & Vocational Education Post Secondary Grants Adult Education Teacher Training Special Education Preschool Grants FIGURE 7: Trends in Education and Training Expenditure by Programme Source: Estimates of Expenditure Book for 217/18 capital investments. This will see the share of capital spending in the sub-sector shrink by over 13 percentage points from 15.1% in 216/17 to average 2% in 217/18 through to 219/2 (Figure 9). The expenditure mix is equally the same in the secondary education sub sector, with the budget being largely recurrent (Figure 1). However, it is important to note that part of the recurrent expenditures for secondary education are administered under the Ministry Administration, with a higher share of the total budget, as evident in Figure 7. With secondary schools accounting for a third of primary schools, distance to the nearest school is a major barrier, hence the need for improved capital investments, targeting secondary school infrastructure development. Besides the cost, inadequate secondary infrastructure is also a major barrier to enrolment. Secondary schools represent a third of primary schools, and face significant infrastructure shortfalls, particularly in the facilitation of science subjects (Table 1). For example there are only 252 computer labs across the country, serving 63,185 learners. Therefore, there is the need for improved investment in information communication technologies, in line with the country s desired vision of being a first world country by 222. Budget Execution The MoET, in its annual report for 216, noted delays in the release of budgeted funds from the Ministry of Finance, affecting programme implementation and budget utilisation. Total budget Facility Number Avg per region Computer Labs Science Labs Library TABLE 1: Key Learning Facilities in Secondary Education 9

10 5, 4,5 4, 3,5 Employment Other recurrent E Thousands 3, 2,5 2, 1,5 1,,5 215/16 216/17 217/18 218/19 219/2 FIGURE 8: Trends in the Preschool Education Expenditure Source: Estimates of Expenditure Book for 217/18 2, 1,8 Employment Other recurrent Capital 1,6 1,4 E Thousands 1,2 1, /16 216/17 217/18 218/19 219/2 FIGURE 9: Trends in Primary Education Spending Source: Estimates of Expenditure Book for 217/18 1,3 Employment Other recurrent Capital 1,1 9 E Millions /16 216/17 217/18 218/19 219/2 FIGURE 1: Trends in Sec. Education Spending Source: Estimates of Expenditure Book for 217/18 1

11 217 Education Budget Brief 1 % 9 % 8 % 7 % 6 % 5 % 4 % 3 % 2 % 1 % % ECCDE Graduating Rate (Pri) Graduating Rate (Sec) FIGURE 11: Trends in Graduation Rates Source: Annual Education Census (AEC) Report 215 implementation in 216 was at 9.4%, with personnel costs recording a 15.6% implementation rate, compared to total recurrent implementation at 9.4% and 23.3% for capital. This points to the need to improve not only the expenditure mix but efficiency in the use of the available resources to achieve better education outcomes for the children. Equity in Resource Allocation Achieving equity in education should be a key priority of any government. The Swaziland National Budgeting System is centralised, making it difficult to view the budget by regions or Tinkundla. It would thus be important for the MoET to have its budget allocations disaggregated at lowest administration levels or Tinkundla, to enable geographical equity analysis. However, what is very clear is the inequality in resource allocation against the different levels of education and hence outcomes. The percentage of children in first grade, reporting to have attended ECCE, remains below 5% from 211 to 215, whilst the rate of graduating from primary education has been sustained at a high of over 9% (Figure 11). However, this drops drastically to 6% for children graduating from secondary education. Whilst the government gives a E1,95. grant per term, for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in secondary school, this is not enough, so children still have to pay the balance, forcing many out of school. Hence, in future, better targeting of the FPE to needy children, could help free more resources for investment in both ECCE and secondary educations for orphans and vulnerable children. KEY MESSAGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Government should prioritise ECCE by allocating resources for infrastructure and teacher capacitation in ECCE. Government should provide incentives for private sector to participate in or provide ECCE facilities: tax breaks, parcels of land, etc. Government should increase the nonwage share of the budget towards secondary education for the construction of computer and science laboratories and libraries Government should promote inclusive education to achieve equitable outcomes Government should improve investments in overall education infrastructure, including provisions for teacher housing, particularly in rural areas, to incentivise teachers Reorientate institutional in-service training to cater for non-trained teachers Upgrade teaching skills in line with changes in curriculum 11

12 Giacomo Pirozzi/UNICEF Swaziland 29 UNICEF Swaziland would like to acknowledge the Government of Swaziland s leadership, coordination and provision of information for the development of the Budget Briefs United Nations Children s Fund 1st Floor Lilunga House, Somhlolo Road, P.O. Box 1859, Mbabane, Swaziland, H1 Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and at