On Saturday, the World Bank (WD) announced that it has approved a 110 million U.S. dollars loan to finance a project aiming to boost education quality in the southern Philippines.
Related:
WB Approves Loan to The Philippines, Environment and Climate
According to WD, nearly 2 million elementary school students from kindergarten to grade 6, as well as over 60,000 teachers and school administrators in three poor regions in western Mindanao, will benefit from the project.
Official reports state that the program will concentrate on enhancing literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills for the students, particularly emphasizing peace-building, gender-sensitive instruction, climate and disaster resilience, and inclusive education.
Moreover, the project will also deliver professional development opportunities to teachers and school administrators and supervisors.
According to Ndiamé Diop, the World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand, the project is part of the multilateral WD continuing support to boost human capital in the Philippines.
Official reports show that the Philippines has increased investments in basic education and has had improvements in enrollment in the past decade. However, learning outcomes remained weak, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenge.