E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, SEP 24 - The board meeting of World Bank (WB) held in Washington DC on Wednesday approved Rs. 10.03 billion (USD  130 million) assistance for the implementation of School Sector Reform (SSR) programme.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has launched this programme from this fiscal year beginning mid-July till 2015 with the total budget of Rs. 202.62 billion with an aim at reforming overall education system in the country.

A meeting was held regarding the bilateral agreement on the budget between WB and government representatives some two month ago in Kathmandu. The board meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) also on Tuesday in Manila and approved some Rs. 7.33 billion (USD  95 million) for the same programme.

“The funding will meet a slice of the programme’s expenditures over the next five years -- both recurrent and development -- covering all levels of school education. The programme focuses on the three pillars --Access, Inclusion and Quality,” read a press statement issued by the WB, after the approval of the assistance in Washington DC.

The release stated that the programme plans to address the problem of uneven deployment of teachers by providing incentives for teachers

to transfer from schools that have too many teachers to those with too few.

Similarly, the programme also finances a range of activities intended to ensure equitable access and quality basic education for all children in the 5-12 age group, prepare pre-school age children for basic education through Early Childhood Education Development and deliver basic numeracy and literacy to youth and adults, especially women.

MoE spokesperson Lekhanath Paudyal also said other seven regular donor agencies, besides these two, namely Department for International Development (DFID), Denmark, Finland, Norway, Australian Aid International, European Union (EU) and United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF), have yet to sign bilateral agreements for assistance.

Likewise, the donors, who support programme-wise, namely Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and USAID, are also yet to sign bilateral agreements.

“All of the donor agencies both regular and programme-wise supporters have agreed to ink bilateral agreements by November,” said Paudyal, adding that the donor agencies have yet agreed to provide some Rs. 40.50 billion (USD525 million) in total and the government has to manage the rest.

Under the programme, there will be two educational structures--primary level from grade 1 to 8 and secondary level from grade 8 to 12, technical and vocational stream will be added from grade 9 and a national examination board will take all exams. Alternative education such as distance learning and self learning package will be incorporated to ensure the right to education for all.

 

Posted on: 2009-09-24 05:14

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