World Bank approves $700 mn to improve primary education in Bangladesh

The World Bank has approved $700 million to help Bangladesh achieve its education for all vision by improving the primary education sector.

The Quality Learning for All Program (QLEAP) will cover more than 18 million children studying in pre-primary level to grade 5.

It will also finance implementation of the government's Fourth Primary Education Development Program (PEDP4), Dhaka Tribune reported.

The World Bank praised Bangladesh's progress in improving access to education.

"Today almost every child steps into a classroom and eight out of 10 children completes primary education," Dhaka Tribune quoted Qimiao Fan, the World Bank country director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal as saying.

World Bank Team Leader for the project Syed Rashed Al Zayed said the project will build about 95,000 classrooms, teachers' rooms, and multipurpose rooms.

It will also build 80,000 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) blocks and 15,000 safe water sources.

The projects will provide recruitment to about 100,000 teachers.