The government has signed an agreement with the World Bank (WB) for a $100 million grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) for the ongoing third Primary Education Development Program (PEDP3).
The grant will help 1 crore 95 lakh children in primary school to receive primary education and complete grade 5, reports BSS.
"The World Bank has been a long standing partner of Bangladesh in the education sector. PEDP3 and its predecessor programmes have been designed to ensure that every primary school-age child in Bangladesh is able to come to school, receive quality education, and complete the primary school cycle," said Iffath Sharif, acting World Bank Country Head for Bangladesh.
Currently over 97% children enroll in primary schools while nearly 80% of these children complete their primary education, thanks to PEDP3 and its predecessor programmes.
The PEDP3 also helped mainstream one year of pre-primary education in public primary schools. Nearly 20 lakh poor children attended pre-primary education in 2014.
The number of primary schools receiving textbooks within the first month of the school year has also increased from 32.0% in 2010 to over 90% in 2014. The programme also ensures merit-based teacher recruitment and helps fill in vacant positions.
The government has recently introduced a university-level diploma in primary education as part of a comprehensive Teacher Education Development Plan.
"PEDP3 contributes to realise the government's vision of 'Education for all'," said Kazi Shofiqul Azam, Additional Secretary, Economic Relations Division, government of Bangladesh.
