The World Bank Approves $150 Million for a Punjab Education Project

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors granted $150 million to a project in Punjab Province to improve reading skills in primary schools and encourage many girls and boys enrolled in pre-primary and primary school.

The Getting Results: Access and Delivery of Quality Education Services in Punjab Project (GRADES) will work to increase school participation, improve learning results, and make up for lost time spent learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This will help girls and boys finish school more often, stay longer, and learn more effectively.

The project will probably directly help around 5 million children, 7,000 headteachers, 165,000 teachers, and more than 3,000 teacher mentors in Punjab Education Foundation schools and state schools.

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“There are more than 7 million kids in Punjab who are not in school.” Najy Benhassine, Country Director for the World Bank in Pakistan, said, “GRADES will help the government of Punjab cut this number by a large amount and improve basic learning outcomes for boys and girls who are already in school.” “This will be done by expanding and strengthening partnerships between the government and the private sector, making sure that young children are better prepared for school, improving the quality and use of teaching and learning materials and tests, and making schools better places to learn.”

Pakistan is very vulnerable to climate shocks, so the project will take a climate-resilient approach and take steps to lessen the effects of natural disasters. For example, about 5,400 more climate-smart classes will be built in primary schools. It will add low-cost climate-smart features like roofs that reflect light and higher plinths.

The project will focus on rebuilding schools that were destroyed in the floods of 2022. These will be schools for girls, schools that are too crowded, and schools in areas where a lot of kids are not in school. As part of the project’s inclusive design, steps are also being taken to make it easier for people with disabilities to participate. For example, school buildings are being made more accessible, and inclusive education principles are being taught to teachers.

“The government of Punjab and the World Bank have worked together on education reform for a long time,” said Izza Farrakh, who is in charge of the project’s task team. “GRADES will use this partnership to come up with even more new ideas, like making classrooms more resistant to climate change and adding lessons about climate change to the regular school curriculum.” These kinds of changes will help make sure that schools are safe and good places to learn. They will also help prepare the next generation to be better able to handle natural disasters and changes in the climate.