New Delhi: The Board of Executive Directors of World Bank on Sunday approved USD 500 million (Rs 3,700 Crore) loan to enhance the condition and governance of school education in six Indian states.
"The board approved a loan for 'Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for the States Program (STARS)' on June 24", a statement by the World Bank said.
"Some 250 million students in 1.5 million schools and over 10 million teachers will benefit from the program. The STARS program builds on the long partnership between India and the World Bank, for strengthening public education and to support the country's goal for providing education for all," the statement added.
Before STARS, the World Bank had provided a total aid of more than 3 million USD towards this goal.
In India, through the Samagra Shiksha, and in partnership with the states of Himachal Pradesh, Kerela, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan, STARS will also help improve the learning assessment systems, strengthen classroom introduction and remediation, facilitate school-to-work transition, and strengthen governance and decentralizing management.
World Bank India's Director Junaid Ahmed told media, "India recognizes the need to significantly improve its learning outcomes to fuel future growth and meet the demands of the labour market".
"STARS will support India's response to this challenge by strengthening implementation at the local level, investing in teacher capacity and ensuring that no child of any background is left behind from the right to education, " he added.
The multilateral funding agency noted that India has, over the years, made significant strides in improving access to education across the country; between 2004-05 and 2018-19, the number of children going to school increased from 219 million to 248 million.