Bangladesh signed an agreement with the World Bank for a $100 million grant, which will help 19.5 million children in primary school to receive primary education and complete grade five, the bank said in a statement yesterday.
The grant is from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) for the ongoing Third Primary Education Development Program (PEDP3).
The financing agreement was signed by the Economic Relations Division Additional Secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam and Acting World Bank Country Head for Bangladesh Iffath Sharif on behalf of their respective organisations in Dhaka.
Thanks to PEDP3 and its predecessor programmes, today over 97% Bangladeshi children enroll in primary schools and nearly 80% of them complete their primary education.
PEDP3 also helped mainstream one year of pre-primary education in public primary schools. Nearly 2 million poor children attended pre-primary education in 2014.
“The World Bank has been a long standing partner of Bangladesh in the education sector. PEDP3 and its predecessor programmes have been designed to ensure that every primary school kid in Bangladesh is able to come to school, receive quality education and complete the primary school cycle,” said Sharif.
“To build on these achievements, the World Bank, Global Partnership for Education and other development partners have enhanced support to further improve the quality of the primary education system.”
The number of primary schools receiving textbooks within the first month of the school year has increased from 32% in 2010 to over 90% in 2014. The programme also ensures merit-based teacher recruitment and fill in vacant positions. The government has recently introduced a university-level diploma to primary education as part of a comprehensive Teacher Education Development Plan.
“PEDP3 contributes to realise the government’s vision of ‘Education for all’,” said Azam.
Through this grant, GPE joins the World Bank and nine development partners who already support PEDP3, a government-led programme. With the $100 million grant, the PEDP3 programme stands now at $9.9 billion. The World Bank’s current contribution to the programme is $700 million.
“Pre-primary and early primary education are key to getting children ready for a successful school life,” said Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer of the GPE.
“Our $ 100 million grant will help strengthen Bangladesh’s education system and support the Government to ensure equal access and learning for all children and reduce the number of out-of-school children. In this context it will also be important to strengthen the collaboration with civil society organizations,” she added.
The GPE works with 61 developing countries to ensure that every child receives a quality basic education, prioritizing the poorest, the most vulnerable and those living in fragile and conflict-affected countries.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
