Education budgets were cut by 65 per cent of low and lower-middle income countries after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic while only 33 per cent of high and upper-middle income countries did so, according to a report by the World Bank.

The report, compiled in collaboration with UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report, said the current levels of government spending in low and lower-middle income nations fall short of those required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.