Sri Lanka receives US$ 100 million concessionary loan from World Bank to diversify and upgrade education sector
The Finance Ministry of Sri Lanka has stated that the country will receive a US$ 100 million concessionary loan from the World Bank to diversify and upgrade secondary school curricular to global standards, focusing on English language and Mathematics.
“Greater emphasis will be on strategic subjects that are critical for economic development such as English and Mathematics,” the Ministry of Finance has said in a statement.
The statement explained that learning material for English language and Mathematics will be developed digitally and focus on delivering quality education to children in more disadvantaged regions.
Also, the project will broaden choices for A-level students giving them the flexibility to select subjects across the arts, management, science, technology, and vocational streams.
“Sri Lanka has made impressive progress in expanding access to education. However, to reach the status of an Upper Middle-Income Country, it needs to further improve the overall learning outcomes,” World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Idah Z. Pswarayi-Riddihough has said.
The World Bank loan is for Sri Lanka’s General Education Mordernisation Project.
“The project will support the government to modernise primary and secondary education in line with international standards that have been established in middle-income and high-income countries,” World Bank Lead Economist and Task Team Leader for the project Harsha Aturupane has said.
“Successful implementation of the overall general education reform program and the key priorities supported by this project should lead to improved learning outcomes and higher socio-emotional skills among students,” he has said.
OSL take:
The concessionary loan by the World Bank to modernize Sri Lanka’s education sector is indicative of the opportunities in the country’s education sector. Foreign education service providers could explore opportunities in Sri Lanka’s education sector in the areas of modernization and diversification.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20180726/Z_6 |