The World Bank has approved a $300 million loan to Bangladesh to improve the quality of primary education and address learning gaps among children.
The funding will support programmes aimed at improving education for 26 million children, from pre-primary to Grade 5. The initiatives will focus on strengthening foundational reading, writing and mathematics skills, while providing targeted support to students who are falling behind.
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the financing in Washington, DC, on Friday under a programme titled Learning Enhancement and Acceleration in Primary Education (LEAP).
According to a World Bank press release, the financing will support the implementation of Bangladesh’s Fifth Primary Education Development Programme. The initiative will focus on improving pre-primary and primary education, training teachers and strengthening school management.
Although Bangladesh has achieved near-universal access to primary education, learning outcomes remain a major challenge. World Bank data show that around 50% of 10-year-old children in the country cannot read and understand a simple text appropriate for their age and grade level. The comparable figures are 42% in Malaysia, an upper-middle-income country, and 47% in Brazil.
Jean Pesme, World Bank country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said quality primary education was essential to building a workforce capable of competing globally.
Over the past two decades, the World Bank has supported Bangladesh in expanding access to schooling, helping ensure that nearly all children have the opportunity to attend school, he said. The new financing would help children learn more effectively and stay in school, improving their future employment prospects.
The World Bank described Bangladesh’s primary education system as one of the largest in the world, with more than 20 million students enrolled across government primary schools, private and NGO-run schools, kindergartens and madrasas.
Under the programme, a specialized learning package will be introduced to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy. It will include teaching materials, structured lesson plans and teacher training.
Headteachers from 90% of government primary schools will also receive training in leadership and management, while school governance and management systems will be strengthened.
Students who fall behind will receive remedial education and supplementary instruction, with particular attention given to districts where learning gaps are most severe.
Tasmina Rahman, a senior education specialist at the World Bank and the programme’s team leader, said strengthening foundational learning was the first step towards developing the skills needed for quality employment.
The programme would provide targeted support to ensure no child was left behind, while improving teaching quality and school leadership, strengthening accountability for the use of funds and increasing the use of data in decision-making, she said.
Teachers in government primary schools will receive training and support to teach reading, writing and mathematics more effectively. The programme will also seek to improve pre-primary education in government primary schools to better prepare children for formal schooling.
The World Bank expects the programme to create 843,000 new, relatively well-paid job opportunities within the government primary school system.
The financing is being provided by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), which offers concessional loans and grants to low-income countries.
The loan has a 25-year maturity period, including a five-year grace period during which no repayments will be required.
