A new joint report by the World Bank and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has found that Caribbean and other countries are cutting their education budgets due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Washington-based financial institution and the Paris-based UNESCO Education Finance Watch (EFW) said that education budgets are not adjusting proportionately to the challenges brought about by COVID-19, especially in poorer countries.
Despite additional funding needs, the new reports says that two-thirds of low- and lower-middle-income countries, such as those in the Caribbean, have, in fact, cut their public education budgets since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report says COVID-19 is only widening this huge per-capita education spending gap between rich and poor countries.
