$9.5 million in free aid to address education issues

Education Minister Dr Arun Jaitley said the $9.5 million grant to overhaul education will provide a comprehensive solution to the problems in the education sector. Ismail Shafie said. The Minister was speaking at the launch of the ‘Revolutionary Change in Education’

The Vice President inaugurated the “Revolutionary Change in Education” with the help of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) which provided $9.5 million (Rs. 146.5 million) through three different grants. With this help, he started a revolutionary change in the field of education.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Education Minister Dr. Ismail Shafie said that the percentage of students passing the A/L examinations has not exceeded 50% in the past 10 years. The minister said this is a major problem as the country invests a lot of money in education.

The Minister said the number of A-level students going on to university was also very low, which was a challenge. The Minister pointed out that this could not be ignored.

“This issue starts from 2015 to 2024. We will focus on subjects other than English in Grade 3. If we do not maintain the pass rate of students in mathematics and literacy, it will affect the secondary school results,” he said.

The minister said the government could not achieve the desired results unless the quality of teachers is improved. The education sector still needs more than 2,700 teachers. The minister assured that he would address these issues and bring positive changes in the education sector.

Details of funding received:

* System Transformation Grant: The total amount of this grant is US$5 million
* System Capacity Grant: The total amount of this grant is US$1.5 million
* Multiplication of grants: Total grant amount is $3 million

The assistance includes building schools, developing education management skills, strengthening education planning and financing, and training and deploying teachers. In addition, a new education management information system will be introduced and used to formulate education policies.

The Global Partnership for Education is the world’s largest private education funding organization. Dhvehi Raajje is a member of the GFE Board of Directors for the period January 2024 to December 2026. The Asia Pacific region is represented by Education Secretary Dr. Arun Jaitley as the Asia Pacific Board Member. Ismail Shafie.