The Executive Board of the World Bank today approved an International Development Association additional credit of US$15 million for the Basic Education Sector project in the Republic of Burkina Faso.
The original Basic Education sector credit in the amount of US$32.6 million was approved in January 2002 and became effective in October 2002. This additional financing will continue to support the Government's ten-year Basic Education Sector Development Program and build on the results achieved under the first phase, progressively expanding and improving the basic education sector.
The construction of schools under the project will further contribute to improve the gross primary enrollment rate currently at 67%, the gross intake rate at first grade of 78% and the primary achievement rate of 39%. The building of school canteens will support vulnerable children in poor families in rural areas and girls by providing a nutritional safety net. By strengthening the sector's management and monitoring, the program will provide management improvement which will strengthen the foundation for a sustainable education sector program in the context of decentralisation. Finally, it will provide training, curriculum enhancement, and pedagogical materials that will contribute to greater learning outcomes.
The Basic Education Sector project and the additional financing are entirely consistent with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) priorities for the period 2006-2009 as they aim to increase the educational level of rural population and to incorporate cross-cutting issues of capacity building, gender and decentralisation.
