ADB to provide $120m loan for pry education

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide US$ 120 million as additional funding for a six-year government-led programme to improve the quality and reach of primary education in Bangladesh.
Senior Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) Mohammad Mejbahuddin and ADB's country director in Bangladesh Kazuhiko Higuchi Monday signed an agreement at ERD in the city, an ADB statement said.
"This additional funding will help deepen ongoing reforms, scale up successful interventions, and complete already scaled-up activities," the statement quoted the ADB country director as saying.
"The overall programme seeks to provide quality education for all Bangladeshi children through an efficient, inclusive, and equitable primary education system," said Mr Higuchi.
ADB's original financing was a $320 million loan, and in 2011 it agreed to make more funds available if implementation was successful, the ADB statement said.
"This was confirmed by a joint midterm review by the Government of Bangladesh and its development partners completed in September 2014, which called for a greater focus on results," it said.
The assistance will be complemented by additional cofinancing from the World Bank and the Global Partnership for Education, it said, adding other development partners are also considering additional financing.
Bangladesh government will provide the remaining $1.7 billion for the country's $9.8 billion Third Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-3), launched in 2011 with the support of nine development partners, it mentioned.
The additional funds are expected to raise key performance indicators relating to student achievement, access and efficiency in Bangladesh, which has one of the largest primary school systems in the world with over 19.5 million children enrolled in about 106,000 primary schools, according to the ADB.
The midterm review notes the programme has increased enrollment and reduced dropout rates across the country, but this trend is lower among disadvantaged groups such as children from small ethnic communities, children living in slums, and children living with disabilities. Disparities between schools, and between rich and poor children, still persist, it said.
To deliver an efficient, inclusive, and equitable primary education system, as well as relevant child-friendly learning to Bangladeshi children through Grade 5, the programme aims to continue building the capacity of both students and teachers, reduce disparities in access to education, decentralise oversight of the primary education system, and improve programme planning and management, it added.
The loan from ADB's Special Funds resources has a 25-year maturity. The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education is the executing agency of the project, to be completed by the end of June 2017, according to the ADB statement.
    smjahangirfe@yahoo.com