World Bank approves USD 500 million loan to improve education system in 6 Indian states

The World Bank has approved USD 500 million loans to help six Indian states to improve education.

With an aim to improve the quality and governance of school education of six Indian states, the World Bank has approved USD 500 million loans. 

On June 24, 2020, the board had approved a loan for Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS), the World Bank said in a statement.

"Some 250 million students (between the age of 6 and 17) in 1.5 million schools and over 10 million teachers will benefit from the program. The STARS program builds on the long partnership between India and the World Bank (since 1994), for strengthening public school education and to support the country's goal of providing Education for All," it said.

Prior to STARS, the bank had provided total assistance of more than USD 3 billion towards this goal.

At the national level, through the Samagra Shiksha, and in partnership with the states of Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan, it said, STARS will also help improve learning assessment systems, strengthen classroom instruction and remediation, facilitate school-to-work transition, and strengthen governance and decentralised management.

World Bank Country Director in India Junaid Ahmad said that the country recognises the need to significantly improve its learning outcomes to fuel future growth and meet the demands of the labour market, 

"STARS will support India’s response to this challenge by strengthening implementation at the local level, investing in teacher capacity and ensuring that no child of any background is left behind from the right to education," he said.

Investing more in the early years of education will equip children with the skills required to compete for the jobs of the future, he added.

The World Bank in a statement said that the country has, over the years, have taken efforts in improving access to education across the country. Between 2004-05 and 2018-19, the number of kids going to school has increased from 2019 million to 248 million. However,the learning outcomes of students across all the age groups continue to remain below par.

The loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a final maturity of 14.5 years, including a grace period of five years.

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