Characteristics of ODA Allocation to Higher Education Focusing on France and Germany

Over the last two decades, much of the global debate on Official Development Assistance(ODA) in education has focused on advocacy for increasing the volume of aid, especially to attain the Education for All(EFA) and Millennium Development Goals(MDGs). Since the Jomtien World Conference on Education for All(EFA) in 1990, the OECD countries elaborated the International Development Targets(IDTs) in 1996. The Millennium Summit in 2000 reached the agreement on the MDGs. The Dakar World Forum on Education in 2000 reinforced the international education priorities on basic education again. While the international community has pooled its resources to promote basic education for all, its emphasis on basic education in development policy led relatively little attention to higher education. However, unlike the mainstream of international education development agenda, two largest donors in education sector, France and Germany, have showed different education development strategies. Despite their priority on education sector, they have largely allocated ODA to higher education even since the MDGs agreement.