📄 Abstract
Although technology and innovation have transformed almost every sphere of modern life, education systems in much of the world continue to operate on largely traditional lines. In many low- and middle-income countries, the cost of schooling discourages poor families from enrolling their children, even though additional years of education remain one of the most reliable routes out of income insecurity. This study examines how primary education is financed in four Asian countries at different stages of development: Bangladesh and India (developing, lower-middle-income economies), Nepal (a least developed, low-income economy at the time of study), and Japan (a developed, high-income economy that serves as a comparator). Using secondary data from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the OECD, and national ministries, the analysis takes 2018 as its benchmark year, since the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2019 severely disrupted both education systems and the comparability of subsequent data. The findings indicate that external financing from the World Bank and the ADB has produced satisfactory to moderately satisfactory progress in enrollment, gender parity, and infrastructure, but that learning outcomes and long-term retention still fall short of targets. The study concludes that national governments and the international development community must not only invest more in primary education but also strengthen the link between spending and learning outcomes.
🏷️ Keywords
📚 How to Cite:
Sifat Jahan Chowdhury , FINANCING PRIMARY EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING, LEAST DEVELOPED, AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BANGLADESH, INDIA, NEPAL, AND JAPAN , Volume 12 , Issue 7, July 2026, EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) , Pages: 853 - 862 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra28759