The World Bank has approved a US$100 million concessional credit to Sri Lanka to enhance access and quality of primary and secondary education to provide a foundation for the knowledge-based economic and social development of the country.
The Ministry of Education with the assistance will implement a project for Transforming the School Education System (TSEP) at the national level, according to a World Bank statement released yesterday.
Provincial Ministries and Departments of Education, with the support of the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils will implement it at the provincial level.
Under its theme, the programme will support initiatives to increase opportunities for children in the age group of 6-10 years to complete primary education and for children in the age group of 11-16 to complete secondary education up to grade 11.
The World Bank says the programme will also support several innovative initiatives to enhance learning outcomes and improve the orientation of the education system to the economic development and social needs of the country.
It would also help assist the country to empower schools with greater managerial authority and responsibility and to develop the planning, administration and monitoring capacity of the provincial, zonal and divisional levels of the education system.
"The program will help the country develop a foundation for the skills needed for the global economy of the future, and the ethics and values required for good citizenship in a modern democracy," Dr Harsha Aturupane, Lead Education Specialist and Task Team Leader of the operation has said.
"This country programme will not only assist the government to improve the school curriculum to better reflect modern international trends in curriculum practice. It will also enhance soft skills needed for better jobs in the future and support the renewal of key core values for future generations," World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka Diarietou Gaye has said.
About 4 million school children, around 215,000 school teachers, 15,000 principals and 3,500 education managers and administrators will directly benefit from the TSEP programme.
According to the global funding agency, there are approximately 1.6 million primary school students and 2.4 million secondary school students among the 4 million students in Sri Lanka.
The TSEP will indirectly benefit school communities of about 10,000 schools, the households of 4 million school children, the contractors of school infrastructure and suppliers of educational equipment, and the academics and researchers who will receive support for research and evaluation activities.
The development initiatives supported by this project are a high priority within the general education sector in Sri Lanka.