The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is an international organization that aims to strengthen education systems in the developing world. With 121 million children and adolescents currently out of primary and lower secondary school, GPE gives 78 million of those children in partnering countries access to quality, equitable education. Most recently, GPE achieved 16 of the 19 milestones they set for themselves in 2016. The GPE gains for 2016 can be summarized by three goals and numerous education objectives.

Goal 1: Improved and More Equitable Learning Outcomes
Data from the GPE Results Report for 2015/2016 demonstrate that learning milestones are achievable in even the most disadvantaged countries. 13 out of 20 developing country partners show improvement in learning outcomes. Even more uplifting is the data showing that two-thirds of children between the ages of three and five are on track developmentally.

Goal 2: Equity, Gender Equality and Completion
Results show progress in the number of children completing school. In 2016, 13.2 million children were supported through the partnership. 745,000 more children completed primary school and 816,000 more completed lower secondary education. Milestones for gender equality in primary and lower secondary completion were also met. 22 out of 59 countries with available data saw at least a 10 percent improvement in an equity index of gender equality, location and household wealth.

Goal 3: Effective and Efficient Education Systems
Some of the strongest advancements were shown with this goal, with 78 percent of developing countries devoting data to valuable education systems. 20 percent of developing countries with available data show an increase in public spending for education. Of those countries, all exceeded the 2016 markers set in place for data availability.

Education Objectives
GPE continues to be the largest international funder of education sector analyses and planning for countries worldwide. More than half of education sector plans met the organization’s minimum quality standards for the past three years. Milestones for financing learning assessments and data systems as well as lessening the decline of education were also achieved in 2016. Finally, the partnership has managed to strengthen affiliations while keeping operating expenses at a low cost.

Despite dramatic GPE gains for 2016, they did not reach their milestones in three areas. These include pre-primary enrollment ratios, gender parity in the proportion of children out of school and alignment of GPE grants with national systems. GPE is dedicated to continued progress in all educational outcomes. If the organization repairs failures, gathers more evidence and creates dependable tactics, the vision of quality education for all is not far off.

– Emilee Wessel

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