At a time when international solidarity is facing massive cuts, France pledged on 23 September in New York to contribute 162 million euros over five years to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the main fund dedicated to education. Whilst Action Education welcomes this maintenance of funding in a context of budgetary constraints, the NGO stresses the urgent need to move beyond mere announcements to ensure real, predictable and directly beneficial support for communities.
On 23 September 2026, during the replenishment of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) funds held in New York as part of the United Nations General Assembly, France announced a contribution of 162 million euros over five years. As the world’s leading multilateral fund exclusively dedicated to education in low-income countries, the Global Partnership aims to strengthen public education systems in a sustainable manner to ensure that every child has access to a quality education.
A strong signal, but not enough in the face of an unprecedented crisis
France’s announcement, commended by the Coalition Education France, of which Action Education is a member and lead organisation, forms part of an international effort that has secured $2.1 billion in contributions from donor countries, supplemented by funding from the private sector, philanthropic organisations and development institutions. Above all, partner countries have committed to mobilising $471 billion in domestic resources, with plans to increase their national education expenditure by 32 % by 2030. Action Education welcomes this prioritisation of domestic funding, which is an essential driver of a sustainable and self-reliant education system.
This urgent need is all the more pressing given that the education system is facing an unprecedented crisis:
- 273 million children and young people are currently unable to attend school.
- International aid for education is set to fall by nearly 30 % by 2027.
- More than 70 % among 10-year-olds In low-income countries, people may not be able to read or understand a simple text.
(Source: UNESCO 2026)
However, Action Education points out that this figure remains well below the €333 million committed during the previous cycle, even as global educational needs are skyrocketing and public funding for education is facing massive cuts.
Civil society’s demands: moving beyond mere announcements
To ensure that this contribution of 162 million euros genuinely addresses the challenges on the ground, Action Education and the Coalition Éducation France are calling on the French government to:
- Ensuring strict additionality of funds : the €162 million must not include the balance of previous commitments (in particular the €66 million to be disbursed in early 2026 in respect of the 2021–2025 period).
- Safeguarding bilateral funding and civil society : France’s commitment to the PME (multilateral) must under no circumstances be used as a pretext for reducing France’s bilateral funding for education. Furthermore, support for the PME’s ‘Education Out Loud’ programme must be continued to ensure public participation in education policy.
- Protect ODA in the form of grants : to meet the target of allocating 0.7 % of GNI to ODA (of which 15 to 20 % is earmarked for education), provided in the form of grants rather than loans.
Education is neither a cost nor an adjustment variable
Action Education points out that the lack of funding for education is not an inevitable financial reality, but a political choice. In 2024, global aid for education amounted to barely the equivalent of one and a half days’ worth of global military spending (Counting the loss: Aid for education in 2024 and 2025, UNESCO (July 2026).
" France’s commitment in New York is a welcome step, but the fight for the right to education requires a fundamental change of direction. Education is neither a cost nor a budgetary adjustment variable: it is a fundamental human right and the most powerful driver of social justice, social cohesion and democratic stability. Only a fundamentally reformed model of solidarity – free from political conditions and underpinned by strengthened local civil societies – will enable us to offer every child a future. " insists Gilles Delecourt, Chief Executive of Action Education.
