The government yesterday signed a US$130 million loan agreement with The World Bank for the Second Reaching out of School Children Project II, with the aim to bring back to school 720,000 dropouts.
The project will continue to support the government’s efforts to achieve the country’s “Education for All’ goal, which includes children from poor and disadvantaged families who were forced to dropout or miss school at the right age due to poverty.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad and World Bank Country Director Ellen Goldstein signed the agreement on behalf of the two parties in the ERD conference room in the capital’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
The project will provide stipends to the students and grants to the Learning Centres known as Ananda Schools (School of Joy) for underprivileged children. It will cover 148 remote or poor upazilas and help these children complete primary education in the Ananda schools and move on to formal secondary education.
“The project will also move into urban areas for the first time to provide educational opportunities to children living in slums, and information technology will be applied to strengthen social accountability and service delivery,” Ellen Goldstein said.
-With The Daily Star input
