The Egyptian government and the World Bank have signed an agreement for the $500 million supporting the Egypt Education Reform project, which aims to improve teaching and learning conditions in Egypt’s public education system.

The signing took place on the margins of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings, with Dr Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation signing on behalf of Egypt and Dr Asad Alam, country director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, on behalf of the World Bank, reported Emirates news agency Wam.

Dr Tarek Shawki, Egypt’s Minister of Education and Technical Education and World Bank vice president for Mena Dr Hafez Ghanem also attended the signing ceremony.

In support of Egypt’s education sector reforms, the five-year project aims to expand access to quality kindergarten for around 500,000 children, train 500,000 teachers and education officials, while providing 1.5 million students and teachers with digital learning resources. In addition, more than two million students will benefit from the new student assessment and examinations system.

This reform effort aims to bring learning back to the classroom through: (1) improving access to and the quality of early childhood education, (2) developing a reliable student assessment and examination system, (3) enhancing capacity of teachers, education leaders and supervisors, and (4) using modern technology for teaching and learning, assessing students, and collecting data, as well as expanding the use of digital learning resources.

The World Bank currently has a portfolio of 16 projects with a total commitment of $6.69 billion. – TradeArabia News Service