Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2020 to Question 49674, whether her Department plans to provide additional funding to the Global Partnership for Education to sustain education systems in the global south during the covid-19 pandemic.

We are at an unprecedented moment when almost the entire school-going population is out of school, affecting more than 1.5 billion children, half of them girls. Girls’ education is a top UK development priority and my officials are assessing how multilateral and other investments can mitigate short-term risks while schools are closed and protect education systems and finance for the medium to long-term.

The UK is the largest donor to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). We have supported GPE to urgently repurpose resources to support distance learning and help countries prepare plans to re-open schools through a dedicated $500 million COVID-19 accelerated funding window.