The World Bank has confirmed $510 million loan to enhance the quality and effectiveness of secondary education system of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh government and the Washington-based lender signed a loan agreement on Monday in this regard.
World Bank Acting Country Director Rajashree Paralkar and ERD secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam signed the deal at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) in Dhaka.
“This will benefit 13 million students studying in grades 6-12,” the World Bank said in a statement on Monday.
The government will utilise the loan for the US$17 billion cost “Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP)”.
It will focus on improving education quality and access, and that students — especially girls and children from low-income households — complete secondary education. For this, the program will support stipends and school grants.
The program will provide training to 500,000 school teachers and school principals to enhance quality of secondary education.
It will also support learning assessments of students in grade 6, 8 and 10 to identify learning gap and suggest policy actions.
The Global Financing Facility (GFF) will provide a $10 million grant, which is aimed at improving adolescent health and school retention.
The programme will construct separate toilets for girls. In addition, the program will also support incorporating topics on general health and hygiene in the curriculum.
The credit from the WB’s soft window – the International Development Association, which provides loan at 0.75 per cent interest rate with a 38-year maturity including a six-year grace period.
The World Bank has so far committed nearly $28 billion in grants and interest-free credits to the country. In recent years, Bangladesh has been among the largest recipients of the World Bank’s interest-free credits.
