Global Partnership for Education (GPE)

Established in 2002, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is the key global fund dedicated to strengthening education systems with the aim to provide quality education for children in low-income countries. It aims to transform education systems through policy dialogue, support for the development of sector plans and their implementation, capacity building of national ministries and the exchange of good practices.

The GPE 2025 strategy targets in particular the poorest and most marginalized, prioritizing one year of pre-school and twelve years of free, public, quality primary and secondary education in line with SDG 4.1. Its goal is a rapid progress in educational access and completion, learning outcomes, and gender equality through equitable, inclusive, and resilient education systems designed for the 21st century. The emphasis on quality learning and skills for the 21st century aims to make education systems more relevant by preparing young people more adequately for the world of work and for the challenges of sustainable development such as health, climate change, gender, peaceful and just societies etc.

Switzerland has direct influence in the Board of Directors as alternate Board member of Donor 1 constituency (next to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg). The presence of Switzerland in this decision-making body allows it to maintain alliances with other constituencies, such as those of the European Union, the Nordic countries, but also civil society or partner countries. In addition, Donor 1 is a strong constituency of like-minded partners with influence at different levels of governance.

Switzerland focuses its policy dialogue on the principles of «Leave No One Behind» and gender, a better focus on domestic funding and local capacity building, the resilience of education systems in the face of crises (conflicts, disasters, epidemics), and better coordination and complementarity at the country level, including with humanitarian actors and mechanisms such as the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) fund and the United Nations coordination system.

Since its creation in 2002, GPE has allocated USD 8.1 billion in 660 grants to 88 partner countries, mainly for the development and implementation of their education sector plans. Currently, around 37% of GPE’s partner countries are fragile and conflict-affected and 36 are SDC priority intervention countries.

For more information on the collaboration between SDC and GPE, please consult the dedicated web page: https://www.globalpartnership.org/partners/donors/switzerland