The four new grants build on prior achievements and will help implement the national education plans of Bangladesh, Mozambique Nepal and Rwanda.
Bangladesh’s grant of US$100 million will support the country’s Third Primary Education Development Program 2011-2017. The grant will be pooled with the government’s own funding as well as funding from nine development partners, and will support the ministry of education in delivering child-friendly learning to pre-primary and primary school aged children.
Mozambique’s grant of US$57.9 million will help enhance early reading, writing and numeric skills. The grant will also improve the learning environment and strengthen service delivery through school management, local governance and accountability.
Nepal’s grant of US$59.3 million was prepared prior to the recent earthquakes. It will support the implementation of the country’s School Sector Reform Plan 2009-2016, as well as the new sector plan that will start in mid-2016. The focus is on increasing access to school and improving quality of education, particularly basic education (grades 1to 8), especially for children from marginalized groups. The Ministry of Education may decide to use the funding to address some of the more urgent needs related to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of schools following the earthquakes that occurred in April and May 2015.
Rwanda’s grant of US$17.64 million will enable the country to deliver on its education agenda, expanding access to basic education for poor and rural children while improving the quality of teaching and learning for all. A further US$7.56 million is expected to be approved once an agreed indicator on equity is adopted for the results-based part of the grant.
