Massive $2.47b education recuperation recipe ahead

A massive US$2.47-billion programme with World Bank assistance is in the offing for recovery of education upset by the global Covid-19 pandemic, according to officials.

The WB is likely to lend US$700 million to Education Ministry for facilitating the educational loss- recovery recipe in the secondary level of schooling, they said Monday.

The remaining funds will be provided by the government from its internal resources.

"The WB has already assured us of providing $700 million worth of funds. We have recently discussed it with a mission of the Bank for getting confirmation of the loan," says a senior Education Ministry official.

He says the programme, titled 'Learning Acceleration in Secondary Education (LAISE)', will mainly help recovery of the Covid-related education losses.

Under the proposed recipe, government's new secondary education programme would cover grades 6-12, annually supporting more than 14 million students and 300,000 teachers from more than 20,000 general schools, 10,000 Madrasahs and 1,000 school-based vocational/technical institutions across the country.

Under the proposed programme, the government's new secondary education programme would cover grades 6-12, annually supporting more than 14 million students and 300,000 teachers from more than 20,000 general schools, 10,000 Madrasahs and 1,000 school-based vocational/technical institutions across the country.

This initiative will work intensively with secondary institutions to help students recover from Covid-related learning losses, he adds.

"To this end, schools and teachers will receive support and inputs so that they can assess student learning levels, group students by post-Covid ability level, deliver an accelerated, focused, and streamlined curriculum focused on foundational skills and topics, and provide additional classes to students who are lagging far behind-these classes could also be in the form of after-school remediation or phone-based tutoring," the ministry official says.

Another official says the WB-supported programme will also improve teacher effectiveness and the curriculum of the secondary-level studies.

"It will strengthen teacher capacity through enhancing their pedagogical, subject-based, and digital and hygiene-management skills specially suited to the new normal situation," he adds.

"With the WB support, we will improve the quality and relevance of curriculum and make it more interactive through digitization," the official says.

They have plans to use education technology in teaching, learning and facilitating a gradual shift towards a blended learning model.

The programme will span a period of 2023 to 2028.

Meanwhile, an Economic Relations Division (ERD) official said: "We sat with a WB project-preparation mission early this month to confirm the $700 million assured loan."

They hold the hope of getting the loan agreement signed within a couple of months for starting the LAISE programme from next calendar year, 2023.

"All meetings have ended. Now a negation will take place before going to the Board of the WB for getting approval. After the board approval, we will sign the loan deal," the ERD official adds.

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