65% lower-middle-income countries slashed education budgets after Covid-19 outbreak: World Bank

Education budgets were cut by 65 percent of low and lower-middle-income countries after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic while only 33 percent of high and upper-middle-income countries did so, according to a report by the World Bank.

The report, compiled in collaboration with UNESCO''s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, said the current levels of government spending in low and lower-middle-income countries fall short of those required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"In order to understand the short-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education budgets, information was collected for a sample of 29 countries across all regions. The sample represents about 54 percent of the world's school and university-aged population. The information collected was then verified with World Bank country teams," the report said.