This financing will benefit an additional 3,000 schools that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The education system in the State of Gujarat ensures schooling for almost 12 million students, 65 percent of which are in remote regions or ‘priority districts’, and where literacy and gender gaps are most pronounced.
Priority districts also tend to lag in terms of access to education, school infrastructure and learning outcomes.
Following the COVID-19 crisis, the state estimated learning losses of about 10 percent, with students in priority areas being disproportionately impacted.
"Additional resources and more instructional time are needed to mitigate the immediate impacts of the pandemic on learning, especially for the most vulnerable," said Hideki Mori, the World Bank’s Acting Country Director for India, in a press release on Tuesday.
"India is home to almost 25 percent of the world’s children so its model and approach for learning recovery has the potential to inform the actions of developing countries in the region and across the world," he added.
The financing complements the original loan of $500 million, which was approved in March 2021, and is in line with the Bank’s Rapid Response Framework that seeks to:
- Reach every child and retain them in schools
- Assess learning levels regularly
- Prioritize teaching the fundamentals
- Increase catch-up learning
- Develop psychosocial health for students and teachers.
The $250 million variable spread loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a final maturity of 16 years, including a grace period of 5.5 years.
Cek Berita dan Artikel yang lain di Google News
