The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved on Wednesday a US$ 200 Million loan to help address the declining quality and accessibility of elementary and secondary education in the Philippines.
The loan will assist the Department of Education (DepED) in the implementation of its Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA). Specifically, the assistance will go to the Government's National Program Support for Basic Education (NPSBE) Project which will improve quality and equity in learning outcomes in basic education.
The US$ 200 million loan is the biggest loan for the Philippines approved in recent years by the Bank's Board of Directors.
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said that the loan is consistent with the overall agreement of the Government with the World Bank.
He said, "This type of assistance is very timely and appropriate at such a time as this. The loan will finance expenditures critical for delivering education services and will therefore guarantee the delivery of such services. This support has a strategic focus: fiscal reform in the short term and helping the Department of Education be more effective, in the longer term."
Education Secretary Fe Hidalgo said that the reforms to be undertaken under this project will improve the decentralization of services and the rationalization of the system in ways that improve quality, equity, governance and financing.
"The project emphasizes improved governance through effective school-based management, enhanced teaching, quality assurance, and better resource mobilization, including greater involvement of local government units and more systemic support from private sector partnerships," Hidalgo elaborated.
For decades, the Philippines has been acclaimed as one of the most highly educated countries. But in recent years, national and international tests have shown that its human capital is slowly eroding.
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