World Bank is giving a loan of 300 million dollars or about 3 thousand 300 million taka for the development of secondary education.
This amount will be spent under the scheme titled ‘E-Learning Acceleration in Secondary Education (LAISE) Operation’. The board of the organization has approved the loan in this regard.
This information was informed in a press release sent from the headquarters of the World Bank on Saturday (September 23).
Also Read: Market capital has increased by 9.5 billion taka in DSE
World Bank Country Director Abdoulaye Sek said Bangladesh has made significant progress in education over the years and was among the first developing countries to achieve gender parity in lower secondary school. But prolonged school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic have had a profoundly negative impact on education. Corona forced many poor girls to drop out of school.
The World Bank will continue to help Bangladesh recover from learning losses by improving learning outcomes and the quality of education; So that students graduate with the skills needed to lead rich and fulfilling lives and struggle in society.
The notification also said that the Learning Acceleration Operation in Secondary Education will support the secondary education programs of the government. The program will focus on core subjects like Mathematics, English and Bengali for grades 6 and 8 to accelerate learning. Because they are the foundation of future education. For this, the proficiency of Class 8 students in Mathematics will be increased from the current 28 percent to 65 percent and in Bengali from 66 percent to 90 percent. To reduce dropout rates, the program will provide stipends to 8 million students.
5,000 institutions will be ensured to have active sexual harassment and prevention committees. Another 7,200 schools will have programs to improve reading skills. 15 thousand teachers will be trained to improve their teaching skills. The program will also support mental health counseling and help prevent gender-based violence in at least 30 percent of targeted schools.
Also Read: Bangladesh India Trade Two More Banks Get Permit In Rupees
The notification also stated that the program will conduct digitization of the newly approved curriculum to recover from the loss of learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. It will also support the phased rollout as well as additional remedial classes to restore learning. It will also support the government’s masterplan for blended learning in classrooms and online. A combination of teaching and will offer students personalized resources so they can learn at their own pace.
World Bank senior education specialist and project team leader TM Asaduzzaman said the program will go beyond providing stipends to keep children in climate-prone areas in secondary school and help re-enroll those who have dropped out. Even if schools are forced to close due to floods or cyclones in climate-prone areas, blended learning will keep learning on track. The program will also mainstream climate education into the curriculum to foster climate-smart mindsets and behaviors.
Dhaka/SA
