Top 10 African Countries With The Highest/Lowest Annual Budget For Education and Technology

It is very important to know that education is an act of receiving or giving systematic instructions to a group of persons of a particular class or age group, especially in a four-wall setting such as a preschool, college, or university. Education could also be known to be formal or informal in learning, which means it could be through a systematic curriculum or just on random knowledge.

It could also mean the process of gaining knowledge through learning or the acquisition of skills, values, and beliefs. Education is a lifelong learning process and it can be acquired at different phases of life. As the saying goes, there is no age limit to education.

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The Concept of Technology

Technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment at large. Technology is known to cut across different areas and spheres of life, while its application can also be found in different fields, ranging from science, art, and management.

Today, technology has advanced beyond the usual capacity. Its application in different fields, most especially science, makes it more obvious that the world is rapidly growing and also evolving technologically. The role and impact of technology in both our personal and working lives is ever-growing. Understanding how people shape technology and how technology shapes people’s interactions with each other and the natural world is important not only for those who research, develop, and implement new technologies but also for all those people and organizations that have to use those technologies in their working, daily and personal lives.

Technology is hands-on and can also be a profession where people have to be skilled in many of the following: engineering, communicating, designing, developing, innovating, managing, manufacturing, modeling, and systems thinking. Although technology also gives us various products that can be used for good or ill, or where the benefits are disputed, and similarly, the processes involved in producing and using technology mean that we should all take an interest in whether it provides us and everyone else with a sustainable future. In other words, good as it is, there are other adverse effects produced by technology. However, that is not to say it has more of a negative effect; in fact, technology has sharpened our lives more than its adverse effects. With this, technology has been applied in so many ways and consequently, its effects cannot be overemphasized, most especially in the use and implementation of education and educational systems in the world.

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What is an educational budget?

Just like every other national sector, every country has an allocation set aside out of their national budget earmarked solely for the educational sector. The educational budget is known as the sum total of money allocated over a specific period of time for the advancement and smooth running of a country’s educational system, be it at the preschool level, secondary or university and college levels. While some countries value education more than others, some countries’s main source of income is mainly education. Education, as it is believed, is a very important part of life, whether acquired formally or informally of learning. Therefore, some countries devote a huge amount of their total budget to education because of the level of importance given to it. Education is still considered a government responsibility and one of its main items of expenditure.

Some countries, such as Nigeria, in some parts of the states, make education compulsory and free from the age of pre-school to junior secondary level. This is done to enhance the importance of education and put up a high literacy level in the country.  Education budgets, therefore, have to meet the ever-growing needs while the debt reduction policies are putting pressure on them to better target government intervention.

Globalization makes the situation even more complex, as governments are affected by numerous external factors beyond their control. Foreign aid becomes crucial to educational development, and most developing countries turn to decentralization, school-based management, and cost-sharing mechanisms. Generally, education has been getting funding from different sources, especially from different bodies. Some international bodies release a certain amount of money to sponsor the educational sector of different applicants in the form of grants or scholarship aid from different countries, consequently relieving many countries of some of these burdens.

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Importance of Budgeting for Education in a Country

It is extremely important for the government to allocate resources wisely, as there are various factors such as uplifting underprivileged sections of society, facilitating financial inclusion, mitigating regional disparity, upgrading defense capabilities, providing proper educational facilities, and much more that needs to be focused on. Therefore, a well-planned budget is of utmost importance for any government to ensure economic stability and growth. The educational budget is of great importance to a country because it helps the country focus more on more critical issues affiliated with the sector.

In most countries, basic education is nowadays perceived not only as a right but also as a duty; governments are typically expected to ensure access to basic education, while citizens are often required by law to attain education up to a certain basic level. Most countries around the world are governed by educated people and it is important to invest a quota of a country’s total budget into developing the sector actively to work to raise future leaders.

An educational budget allows for the smooth running of the school’s activities, which include payment of staff’s salaries to avoid disruption in the smooth running of the academic year. Where there is no sufficient or no budget allocated, workers resolve to go for strikes and other protests, which can cause glitches in the effective running of the educational sector. Also, there should be enough budget allocated to fund capital projects and research within the school system.

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Importance of Budgeting for Technology in a Country

When it comes to budgeting, identifying areas of weakness helps the government to allocate the nation’s resources in a useful and sustainable manner to areas that are in need of the country. A budget helps the government know how to apportion the nation’s resources properly.

Any political party that forms the government at the center has certain social, political, and economic responsibilities towards its country and citizens. In countries with deep cultural, religious, and economic diversity, it is extremely important for the government to allocate resources wisely so that other parts of the nation would not suffer.

Various factors, such as uplifting underprivileged sections of society, facilitating financial inclusion, mitigating regional disparity, upgrading defense capabilities, providing proper educational facilities, and much more, need to be focused on. Therefore, a well-planned budget is of utmost importance for any government to ensure economic stability and growth.

Below are the reasons why it’s important for the government to have a budget:

Proper resource pool allocation: 

When it comes to budgeting, identifying areas of the wants and needs of a country helps the government to allocate resources in a useful and sustainable manner. This is one of the most fundamental objectives behind framing or setting up a government budget each year. It’s important for the government to ensure that funds reach where they’re most needed. Therefore, using past data to identify sections of society in need of economic welfare policies and implementing those policies helps the government demonstrate efficient governance and achieve economic stability in the country.

Ensuring economic growth: 

A budget allows the government to regulate the imposition of taxes in various sectors. Investment and expenditure are some of the most prominent factors contributing to the growth of a nation’s economy. The government can encourage people to emphasize more savings and investments by providing tax rebates and subsidies.

Growth of business and trading: 

Businesses and enterprises look forward to the government budget as resources are allocated to various sectors revealed. The government can encourage business owners to revise their policies accordingly and contribute to the country’s economic prosperity.

Mitigating economic divide: 

Economic disparity and inequality are an imminent threat to any country’s economy. The government can address these kinds of threats by introducing public and economic welfare policies for the underprivileged sections of society through the budget.

Administering the operation of public sectors: 

Industries operating in the public sector contribute immensely to the country’s economy by providing employment to a lot of people and generating revenues. A budget helps the government focus appropriately on companies in the public sector by introducing policies to aid their growth.

As technology continues to transform professional environments and modern workflows, the need for information technology budgeting grows increasingly important. Investing in the right technologies at the right time involves a lot of internal planning and strategic analysis. Waiting too long can lead to missed opportunities and detrimental inefficiencies. For instance, the case of pandemic diseases recorded around the world could explain some of the deficiencies in medical technological budgets.

Before an organization or countries invest in new technologies, they first assess whether the project is likely to be profitable, especially if it involves a lot of upfront expenditures. Therefore, there is a need to fund technology, especially profitable technology related to IT and health. Advanced countries like China have a lot of investments in technology and in fact, technology remains one of their major sources of income; therefore, there is a need to have the allocation for such a sector.

African Countries With the Lowest Annual Budget for Education

Governments everywhere should appreciate that a strong educational system is a foundation upon which a strong society stands. Investing in education will guarantee a better future for countries as a whole, as respecting fundamental human rights often best begins from the bottom working up, wherein improving the position of children, in school and elsewhere, is a great place to start. Here is a list of the top ten countries with the least investment in their educational system:

1. Equatorial Guinea
2. The Central African Republic
3. Zambia
4. Guinea-Bissau
5. Liberia
6. Libya
7. Zimbabwe
8. The Democratic Republic of the Congo
9. Chad
10. Sierra Leone

Countries on this list are ranked based on their allocation to education in comparison to their GDP. Although education is a priority across the globe, the level of spending varies, which means some countries have more commitment to education than others. Countries, especially African countries, are among the least of the top countries with little investment in education compared with their GDP.

African Countries With the Lowest Annual Budget for Technology

With recent technological advancements we have seen in the last few decades, society has grown far from what it was years ago. Despite the massive advancement in technology, some countries have failed to avail themselves of the importance of technology to mankind.  Some countries have failed to invest more in technology despite the apparent usefulness of technology to our society at large. Here is a list of the top ten countries with the least annual allocation to technology:

Uganda:  

This is one of the countries that suffers a cut-off from technological advancements, mainly due to an oppressive and corrupt system. This is a country where child labor is common, torture, and extrajudicial killings are considered typical.

Sierra Leone: 

Living conditions can be harsh and even the internet is sparse around the country. The development has been slow but there have been signs of improvements in recent years.

Tanzania: 

This African country’s biggest problems are its lack of funding and support as well as the rampant crime throughout most of its areas. Electricity cut-offs and blackouts here are common because of underdeveloped electric plants and valuable equipment and parts being stolen off for personal profit.

Mozambique: 

This is a land rich in natural resources misplaced and undervalued. Coming off of a recent civil war, development is not a priority and the country itself even lacks any primary schools.

Lesotho: 

This African country is a stream of social problems and poverty, with most of its population earning only $1.25 a day. Reports of rape, violence, and sexual abuse are common in this country.

Burkina Faso: 

This is a country often experiencing water shortages, which tells a lot about where the country is in regard to technology.

South Sudan: 

This is said to be a new country that was created in 2011, focuses more on oil exports, and due to the falling prices, the country’s economy is then greatly affected. Although the citizens also result in agriculture, with incessant violence, there is little to be done. This has then, in many ways, prevented the country from growing in education or technology.

Liberia: 

With the Ebola pandemic hitting so hard on Liberia, it has generally caused a decline in the country’s economy and other vital sectors. This has in turn placed the country at the very edge and the government has since not been able to adequately fix the economic and systematic problems.

Malawi: 

Although a largely peaceful country, Malawi is still very poor and tries only to survive through agriculture but there is still a large portion of food insecurity in the rural areas of the country. The country’s economy is still gradually coming to terms but it is currently still very underdeveloped, with some of its major sectors like technology and education still under planned.

Eritrea: 

A country in East Africa is one of the underdeveloped countries of the world. The country currently has about 3.5 million people surviving through subsistence farming. The budget for technology or education is literally not possible in the current situation of the country, as other day-to-day means of livelihood are still being managed by the citizens themselves with little or no help from the government.

African Countries With the Highest Annual Budget for Education

The educational budget in Africa has been increasing annually, according to new and various reports online. A report reveals that in some countries in Africa, development aid accounts for about 50% of the government’s education budgets and over the last decade, public spending on education in Africa has increased by about 6% each new year’s budget.

Most Western countries are found on the list of countries with the most annual budget on education. Here are some of the countries with large educational expenditures:

1. Namibia
2. Niger
3. Nigeria
4. Rwanda
5. Angola
6. Benin
7. Botswana
8. Burkina Faso
9. Burundi
10. Cameroon

Some of the reports published online by UNESCO are stated below:

• In Burundi and Mozambique, the education annual budget rose by an average of 12% annually over the last few years.
• Out of the 26 countries with comprehensive data, the only one, which is the Central African Republic, has reduced its education budget since 2000.
• Overall, sub-Saharan Africa spends 5% of its gross domestic product on education, which is second only to North America and Europe at 5.3% but in one-third of the region’s countries, half of all children still do not complete primary education.
• A total of 32 million children remain out of school, mostly at the junior school level in Africa.
• In some countries, such as Guinea, Mali, Rwanda, and Zambia, development aid accounts for about 50% of government education budgets, but in the region as a whole, aid accounts for a much smaller fraction (5.6%).

Currently, most countries in sub-Saharan Africa spend at least 10 times more on a university student than on a primary school pupil, says the report. And on average, eight out of every $10 spent on university education in Africa is subsidized by country governments.

Unesco highlights the recent experience of Burundi, which brought the number of out-of-school children down from 723,000 in 1999 to just 10,000 in 2009. Over the same period, Burundi increased its investment in education from 3.2% of GDP to 8.3%. But what made the real difference, says the report, was the decision to dedicate a much larger chunk of the budget to primary education, effectively moving public money away from secondary schools and universities.

African Countries With the Highest Annual Budget for Technology.

In Africa, although countries are faced with a plethora of issues and problems, ICT development is also high on the agenda as we look to keep up with developed countries in an attempt to improve tourism, trade, and of course the standard of living. Below are listed some of the countries that are ranked to have the highest annual budget set aside for technological advancements in their countries.

1. South Africa
2. Egypt
3. Nigeria
4. Kenya
5. Ghana
6. Rwanda
7. Botswana
8. Angola
9. Uganda
10. Zimbabwe

Generally, most African countries don’t put enough importance and emphasis on education and technology and as such, the country’s literacy level diminishes. However, in recent times, more and more countries and even people are beginning to appreciate the values of education and technology and are going all out to ensure that adequate investments and national budgets are diverted into the educational sector. The level of importance attached to education and technology is reflected in their level of commitment to these sectors.

Developed countries such as the UK, the US, and other Asian countries even now go as far as offering scholarships and grants to both their students and also extend their generosity to other international students who wish to study in their country. This act not only helps the educational background of a country but also develops a good interrelationship between these countries.