World Bank gives Bangladesh $130 mln education loan

DHAKA, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The World Bank approved a $130.7 million credit on Friday to help Bangladesh in its efforts to reform its education sector.

The loan is designed to improve the quality of secondary education, systematically monitoring learning outcomes, to increase access and equity, and ensure greater accountability at school level, the global lending agency said in a statement.

Bangladesh has recorded impressive achievements in the education sector. Since 1980, enrolments in secondary school have increased three-fold and female enrolments have risen seven-fold.

Female enrolment in the secondary schools increased from 1.1 million in 1991 to 4.4 million in 2006 after a World Bank financed initiative was launched in 1993.

Under the project, schools and families received cash incentives to keep girls in secondary school through completion.

Despite these achievements, completion rate at the secondary level is as low as 20 percent and many poor children, especially boys, are still left out of the secondary school system, the bank said.

Nearly half of the country's over 140 million people still lives on less than one dollar a day.

The credit from the International Development Association, the World Bank's concessionary arm, has 40 years to maturity including a 10-year grace period with a service charge of 0.75 percent.

($1=68.50 taka)