Nigeria will soon get a $500 million loan from the World Bank to assist out-of-school children, the bank’s Senior Education Specialist, Dr. Olatunde Adekola, has said.
Adekola spoke in Sokoto yesterday when he led a five-man team to Governor Aminu Tambuwal.
The loan will be given under World Bank’s‘Better Education-For-All (BEDA)’ Project.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), quoting the bank’s official, said the project would focus on the northern parts to bolster the girl-child education.
He said: “The project will be results-oriented, ensure that children are able to read and write.
“This is to help the government to strengthen its service delivery mechanisms to children, girls, women and other vulnerable groups.
“Most of the challenges in the country are education related and the five-year project is aimed at reversing the ugly trend.”
The World Bank official, however, expressed satisfaction with the efforts by Tambuwal to develop the education sector in the state.
Adekola hailed the state for allocating about 27 per cent of its budget to education in 2016 and 2017.
He said: “The state government also deserves a pat on the back for ensuring the prompt payment of teachers’ salaries.
“We have also noted an unlimited appetite by parents in the state for the education of their children.”
Tambuwal promised to sustain the existing partnership between the bank and the state government.
“We will continue to honour our own side of commitments to such agreements in terms of finances and other issues.
“We have begun the process of creating an agency to be in charge of the education of the girl-child.
“We will ensure the effective utilisation of the funds, to avoid any infractions,” the governor said.