Financing for equity
1. Overall Education Financing Mechanisms
2. Policies and Programmes to Provide Resources to Schools
3. Education Policies and Programmes to Provide Resources to Students and Families
4. Social Policies and Programmes to Provide Resources to Students and their Families
According to Law 06-016 2006-03-13 PR, the right to education and training is recognized for all regardless of age, sex, regional origin, social, ethnic or religious belief. Compulsory education guaranteed by the state covers basic education from 6 to 16 years old (Art. 4).
Chad’s Interim Education Plan (PIET) 2018 to 2020, has set as the first priority for the sector to “pursue quality universal primary education by expanding basic education to lower secondary education and ensuring that disparities are reduced”.
The Law stipulates the sources of funding for the education system, not limited to public financing but also including: State and decentralized local government budget allocations; University fees paid by students; goods and services production activities; donations and legacies; various competitions from bilateral and multilateral cooperation;and loans (Art. 115).
In 2016, public sector expenditure in education was XAF134.8 billion (US$ 240 million). Education represented 26% of State expenditure and 2.3% of GDP. According to the Interim Education Plan, 49.9% of the education sector current expenditure concerns primary education, 15.8% is for middle education and 15.5% is for secondary education.
Parents of students continue to make a significant contribution to schooling children. Indeed, whether in public or community establishments, contributions from families include school registration fees, purchase or making of school uniforms, hygiene kit, and textbooks. According to a GPE report, in 2011, households paid XAF 31478 (US$53) per student for public primary education, XAF 66,000 (US$110) per student for public middle education, XAF95,482 (US$159) per student for secondary education, XAF 190,000 (US$318) for public technical and professional training and XAF185,000 (US$309) for public higher education. Household expenditure for primary education is XAF42,000 (US$70) on average, corresponding to 12% of GDP per capita.
According to a UN General Assembly report from 2018, the government of Chad multiplied initiatives to guarantee education. 38,905 primary school teachers were trained from 2014 to 2016, 307 teachers are assigned to the different camps, 1,409 classrooms were rehabilitated, and 7,513 primary schools were built for refugees. Textbooks were elaborated and distributed (5 million copies in primary schools) by the National Center for Curricula. The introduction of gender-responsive approach in the education system resulted in measures including: support for poor parents for the school expenses of their daughters; encouraging female students to pursue scientific subjects; the reduction of domestic charges of child mothers.
The Chadian government has set a 2019-2020 response plan for refugees, requiring US$208 million overall, that includes the formalization of schools in refugee camps, support for the construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of school infrastructure, teacher training and the provision of educational materials essential to consolidate integration of refugee schools into the Chadian system. Special attention will be given to girls and children with specific needs. Quality of education will be improved to level up all schools in the territory, including schools in camps or host villages.
International organizations also intervene in Tchad due to the humanitarian crisis and to improve access to education in impoverished communities. The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) supports the Project to Strengthen Education in Chad (PREAT), with a funding of US$30 million for the period 2018-2020. The development objective is to strengthen primary education supply and demand, to improve the quality of primary education, to improve non-formal education and adult literacy programs, and to strengthen sector management. According to the project document, the GPE contributes to cover the budgetary deficit of Chadian public funding of the Interim Education Plan, estimated to XAF37 billion (US$ 61 million) in 2018.
The UN Refugee Program also intervenes in Chad. Targeted populations include by UNHCR include: people at risk of statelessness, Central African refugees, Chadian returnees, Internally displaced persons in Chad from the Lake region, Nigerian refugees, Refugees and asylum seekers in urban areas and Sudanese refugees (in the East). The 2019 report estates that educational programs achieved to enroll 85 030 children across camps and host villages. The 2019 budget for programs and operations in Chad was US$130 million, of which US$14 million were allocated for education (10.7% of the budget). The education intervention has 3 main programs:
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For Central African refugees, including school canteens, scholarship opportunities, teacher training, construction or rehabilitation of infrastructures, attention to children with disabilities and girls, and others. Target population is 22,000 students.
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For refugees and asylum seekers in urban areas, including cash-based assistance, school attendance of children with special needs, scholarships, and others. Target population is 107,000 children in primary education.
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For Sudanese refugees (eastern Chad), including construction of 1,660 classrooms and their equipment in 40,500 tables-benches, as well as community participation through training, sensitization and implementation of Income Generating Activities. Target population is 107,000 children in primary education.
The UN Refugee Agency has created the DAFI scholarships for higher education, available for refugees in Chad: in 2016, 97 grants were allocated (of which 26 were for women), with a total budget of US$258,000 and an average cost by grant of US$2,700. The program works with partners to raise awareness among community members of girls’ access to secondary and higher education and provide tutoring for students.
The UNHCR program includes scholarship opportunities, cash-based assistance, tutoring for students and implementation of Income Generating activities for families. In 2019, 10.7% of the UNHCR budget (US$140 million) for operations in Chad spent on 132 households with students.
