Education Finance

Abstract

Examines trends in public education spending in northern Sudan, spending on education by administrative level and school level (preschool, basic, secondary, and tertiary), and the composition of recurrent education spending; analyzes the composition of public per-student spending and spending on education staff; and examines the state share in total public spending, per-student spending, and the composition of recurrent education spending. The education system in northern Sudan is decentralized, with varying capacities to deliver education services across states, and there are significant state differences in education inputs, outputs, and outcomes. The share of public spending on basic education in northern Sudan was smaller than the share in neighboring countries and lower middle-income countries in both Sub-Saharan and North Africa, and was also smaller than the Education for All Fast-Track Initiative (EFA-FTI) benchmark. Most states allocated a large share of their total public spending to education, on average 31 percent, but there were notable differences in public per-student spending across the 15 states.