# India’s education spending falls below UNESCO’s 15% threshold

2026-08-08T22:40:16+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 1 independent outlet

India's public spending on education has dropped to 14.2% of total government expenditure, below UNESCO's 15% benchmark, even as GDP share stays at 4.1% (above the 4% minimum). The UNESCO 2026 SDG 4 scorecard, released on Monday, shows India's share fell 1.5 percentage points from 15.7% in 2015. India also lags on school completion. Lower secondary (Classes VI-VIII) completion rate stands at 86%, far short of the 99% national target for 2025. Upper secondary (IX-XII) completion is just 51%, against a target of 84%. UNESCO classifies progress at both levels as slow. India is among 64 countries that meet the GDP threshold but fall short on public expenditure.

## Coverage

- timesofindia.indiatimes.com <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-spending-on-education-below-unescos-15-standard/articleshow/133059254.cms>
- economictimes.indiatimes.com <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/indias-education-spending-share-drops-below-unescos-15-standard/articleshow/133064507.cms>

Tags: education spending, India, Public expenditure, SDG 4, secondary completion, UNESCO
Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/indias-education-spending-below-unescos-15-benchmark/
License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources.
Cite: https://indianopinion.org/indias-education-spending-below-unescos-15-benchmark/#story-in-brief

Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.