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World Bank Approves Additional Financing for Guyana’s Education Sector

Financing for Guyana’s Education Sector

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved today additional financing of US$13.5 million to support the ongoing Guyana Secondary Education Improvement Project. The project aims to improve teaching in mathematics and increase enrollment in secondary schools. This will provide equipment and training to support innovative technology-assisted education delivery methods.

Additional financing will also be used to complete construction of two secondary schools. It will also supply resources for those schools, and build a new secondary school.

Guyana’s education sector has made significant progress in the last decade; however, strengthening learning outcomes remains a priority and the pandemic is hitting the education sector hard. Through the ongoing project, we are pleased to support the government in piloting use of technology and innovative ways of teaching, which are particularly relevant during distance learning. The new financing will support the pilot of a “smart classroom” initiative to help the sector build back better from the pandemic,” said Ozan Sevimli, World Bank Resident Representative for Jamaica and Guyana.

Pilot Programs

The additional financing will provide more resources to an existing pilot program that uses adaptive learning software on tablets for mathematics education. The project emphasizes use of technology and higher quality math education.  Both are important to prepare Guyanese students for future employment. Capacity building for teachers is an important component of the project to improve the quality of secondary education. The project is also supporting construction of secondary schools in Regions 3 and 4, which include nearly 30 percent of the country’s secondary school population and over 40 percent of the population living in poverty. Access to high-quality secondary schools can reduce overcrowding, improve learning conditions, and contribute to increasing enrollment.

Guyana Secondary Education Project

The Guyana Secondary Education Project was approved in 2014 and extended until 2023.  This will ensure the successful completion of all the activities. The original project has already developed mathematics standards for secondary school teachers. It has also supported mathematics training for over 600 teachers, and distributed 200 mathematics teaching kits.

Guyana receives interest-free financing from the International Development Association (IDA), with a maturity of 40 years, including a grace period of 10 years. The World Bank also approved support for Guyana’s health response to COVID-19 in November 2020.

 

 

South Florida Caribbean News

The SFLCN.com Team provides news and information for the Caribbean-American community in South Florida and beyond.

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