World Bank approves $300m to improve primary education in Bangladesh

The World Bank has approved $300 million in financing to improve learning outcomes for 26 million children from pre-primary to Grade 5 in Bangladesh, as nearly half of the country's 10-year-olds cannot read and understand a simple, age-appropriate text.

The financing was approved by the World Bank Group's Board of Executive Directors on November 6 under the Learning Enhancement and Acceleration in Primary Education Program.

The programme will support the government's Fifth Primary Education Development Program, focusing on improving foundational literacy and numeracy, teacher training and school management.

According to the World Bank, around 50 percent of 10-year-olds in Bangladesh are unable to read and understand a simple text, compared with 42 percent in Malaysia and 47 percent in Brazil.

The programme will introduce structured lesson plans, teaching materials and teacher training to strengthen children's reading, writing and mathematics skills. It will also provide remedial learning support to students falling behind, particularly in districts with the weakest educational outcomes.

The initiative will support leadership training for headteachers in 90 percent of government primary schools and strengthen school management systems and the use of data in educational planning.

"Quality primary education is one of the building blocks for a globally competitive workforce," said Jean Pesme, World Bank Division Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.

The programme will also seek to improve pre-primary education in government primary schools to strengthen children's school readiness.

According to the World Bank, the programme is expected to generate 843,000 more and better-paid jobs in government primary schools.

Bangladesh has more than 20 million children enrolled in government schools, NGO-run schools, kindergartens and madrasas, making its primary education system one of the largest in the world.

The financing comes from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessional financing arm for lower-income countries. It has a 25-year repayment term, including a five-year grace period.