SCRUTINY: Budget allocations to inclusion require greater scrutiny to ensure that plans are realistic and on track Until recently, monitoring and scrutiny of spending on inclusive education was a considerable challenge, as spending on inclusive education was integrated into wider education budgets. As UNICEF noted in 2017, “Despite having a target to improve enrolment of persons with disabilities at various levels of education, there is no dedicated budget line item despite the launch of the National Inclusive Education Strategy in 2016”.148 This analysis has been corroborated by CSEC who note that the special needs budget is very difficult to identify, “hidden” within budget lines that cover a number of issues as “cross cutting budget”. The analysis goes on to note that the allocation to cross-cutting issues is only MK 306 million, against the NSIE (20172021) costing matrix which provides for MK 4.5 billion for special needs in 2019.
The new NESIP aims to ensure that inclusion is considered as a cross-cutting element of the overall education plan, but also includes a relatively detailed breakdown of specific line items aimed at promoting inclusive education, and disability-inclusion in particular. This will make spending on inclusion easier to track and monitor. However, as mentioned above, timelines and targets in the results framework and the implementation plan do not always match up.xxx More remains to be done to ensure that plans, budgets and targets for inclusionrelated actions and expenditure are both harmonised and realistic. Engagement and scrutiny by civil society education stakeholders will be key to ensuring accountability, to ensure that planned actions are delivered and contribute to improved outcomes.
PHOTO: KATE HOLT/ACTIONAID
xxx. The NESIP period is 2020-2030 and the NSIE ends in 2021
THE BEDROCK OF INCLUSION: WHY INVESTING IN THE EDUCATION WORKFORCE IS CRITICAL TO THE DELIVERY OF SDG4
33
