WB approves supporting education in Egypt with $500M

CAIRO – 14 April 2018: The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors unanimously approved supporting Egypt’s national education strategy to develop pre-university education with $500 million, a statement from the Investment and International Cooperation Ministry said Saturday.

In a released statement, the bank said that the funding will support increasing access to quality Kindergarten education, improving the quality of learning and adopting technology as a vehicle to achieve the reform objectives.

The project will expand access to quality Kindergarten for around 500,000 children, train 500,000 teachers and education officials, while providing 1.5 million students and teachers with digital learning resources, the statement said.

Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said that the bank’s decision reflects the increased cooperation between Egypt and the international institution, saying that the funding is considered the largest for supporting education in Egypt.

She added that the decision reflects the World Bank’s (WB) support for developing and reforming education, which comes as one of Egypt’s priorities to achieve economic and social development.

Nasr further said that the funding came in an appropriate time as it directly supports the country’s strategy to develop education, which was discussed recently by the government.

The funding will focus on four main areas, including improving access to and the quality of early childhood education, developing a reliable student assessment and examination system, enhancing capacity of teachers and supervisors and using modern technology for teaching, assessing students, and collecting data, as well as expanding the use of digital learning resources.

The current portfolio of the World Bank in Egypt includes 26 projects for a total commitment of $5.92 billion, according to WB’s website.

The bank finances projects in key sectors including energy, transport, water and sanitation, agriculture and irrigation, housing, social protection, as well as health and education.