WB approves $300m to help Bangladesh improve secondary education

The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank has approved $300 million to help Bangladesh recover from learning losses incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The support will also introduce complementary online learning blended with in-class education to build system resilience, improve learning outcomes and teaching quality and reduce the dropout rate in secondary education.

"Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in education over the years and was among the first few developing countries to achieve gender parity in lower secondary school. But, the prolonged school closure during the Covid-19 pandemic has had a profoundly negative impact on learning and forced many poor girls to leave school," said Abdoulaye Seck, WB country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.

"The World Bank will continue to help Bangladesh recover from learning losses by improving learning outcomes and teaching quality so that students graduate with the skills they need to live a rich and fulfilling life and strive in society," he added.

The Learning Acceleration in Secondary Education (LAISE) Operation will support the government's Secondary Education Programme, said a press release today.

With an aim to accelerate learning, the programme will have a focus on core subjects such as mathematics, English, and Bangla for grades 6 and 8, as these are foundational for future learning.

To reduce dropout rates, the programme will provide stipends to eight million students and ensure 5,000 institutions have active sexual harassment and prevention committees in place.

Further, about 7,200 schools will have programmes to improve reading proficiency, and 15,000 teachers will receive training to improve their teaching skills.

The programme will also support mental health counselling and help prevent gender-based violence in at least 30 percent of targeted schools.

"To keep children in secondary schools in climate-vulnerable regions, the program will take additional steps beyond providing stipends and help those who have dropped out to re-enrol," said TM Asaduzzaman, World Bank senior education specialist and team leader for the project.