World Bank Offers $500m Education Loan To Nigeria

Senior Education Specialist World Bank, Dr Olatunde Adekola says the bank has offered to give  Nigeria a $500million loan under its ‘Better Education For All–BEDA’ Project.

The project  is  to mop up out- of- school children and would  focus on the northern parts of Nigeria, especially bolstering girl-child education,  he disclosed.

He was speaking when he  led a five-man World Bank team  on a courtesy call on Sokoto state Governor Aminu Tambuwal.

Adekola who noted that most of the challenges in the country are education related, said the five-year project was  aimed at reversing the ugly trend.

” The project would be results oriented and ensure that children are able to read and write,” he said.

He added: ”This is to help the government to strengthen its service delivery mechanisms to children, girls, women and other vulnerable groups.”

The World Bank official however lauded Sokoto state government’s allocation of about 27 per cent of the state’s annual budget to education in 2016 and 2017.

He also commended the state government for ensuring the prompt payment of teachers’ salaries.

In a remark, Governor Tambuwal assured that the state government would ensure the effective utilization of the funds.

He said the existing partnership between the bank and the state government would be sustained.

”We will continue to honour our own side of commitments to such agreements in terms  of finances and other issues,” he added.