The Basic Education Coalition's mission is to raise the priority among governments, donor organizations, and the private sector for support of quality basic education for all as an essential means of promoting economic development and human well-being.

The eighteen members of the Coalition see basic education as a fundamental investment in reducing poverty and improving social well-being. Basic education facilitates a range of development goals, including supporting broad-based economic growth, improving health and nutrition, reducing child labor, lowering the rate of population growth, and supporting civil society, democracy, and political stability.