This policy brief developed by the Global Education Cluster (GEC), the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies (EiE Hub) and the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) assesses the consequences of recent aid cuts on education. It sets out recommendations for policy makers, donors and practitioners. Its key points include:
- The aid cuts in 2025 have had a devastating impact on education services in crisis contexts, while education faced steeper cuts than most other sectors. Humanitarian actors were forced to reduce their funding requests by 33% for education, leaving more than 33 million people in need outside the scope of aid planning.
- Frontline education providers in crisis contexts have already been forced to scale back, and the majority have had to slash education budgets. In practice, this has led to fully or partially closed schools, reduced or unpaid teacher salaries, increased dropout rates, and a reduction in services to students.
- Donors should sustain and increase humanitarian funding towards Education in Emergencies, with an emphasis on local leadership. Local communities, teachers and civil society are already stepping in to fill gaps left by aid agencies – they should be supported through more decision-making power and funding.