ADB loan to help Sri Lanka upgrade secondary schools
View(s):The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 million loan to help the Government of Sri Lanka revamp its secondary school system to cut youth unemployment and meet the country’s urgent need for a skilled workforce.
“The current system needs a major overhaul so that young people have the skills to enter the labour market once they move on from secondary schools,” said Rita O’ Sullivan, Country Director of ADB’s office in Sri Lanka, in a statement to the media.
“This is now essential in a digital age where technological skills and knowledge are at the heart of successful and sustainableeconomies.” The loan marks the first results-based lending programme approved by ADB. Payments will be linked to the achievement of results such as the rollout of a full curriculum in schools, implementation of a technology stream, or training principal teachers. The programme supports the Government’s Education Sector Development Framework and Programme for2013-2017.
Currently, many schools, particularly in rural areas do not offer the key subjects of science, mathematics, and English, which makes it difficult for graduates to move into post secondary education. Many schools also lack the facilities such as fully equipped classrooms or science laboratories to provide modern and relevant schooling.
Under the new programme, ADB’s loans will finance the development of a national student assessment framework, which integrates school assessments with external exams to improve pass rates, and it will introduce a technology stream to allow secondary school graduates to move more easily into vocational courses.
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