Chhattisgarh: World Bank sanctions Rs 2,460 crore to improve quality of school education

RAIPUR: The World Bank has sanctioned Rs 2,460 crore to improve the quality of education and infrastructure in schools across Chhattisgarh and the financial aid will help nearly 4 million underprivileged students, a government official said on Wednesday.

The funding is also aimed at encouraging science and commerce education at the higher secondary level, he said. Nearly 40 lakh students belonging to poor and weaker sections of society will benefit from the project named Chhattisgarh Accelerated Learning for a Knowledge Economy Operation (CHALK), the public relations department official said.

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Chhattisgarh government has opened Swami Atmanand English and Hindi medium Schools across the state to provide quality education to the students of underprivileged communities, he said. The project will help to develop and operate about 600 model schools from Class 1 to 12, he said.

The CHALK project has been commenced to improve access to education across all grades and to address the growing demand for science and commerce studies at the senior secondary level, he said. Under the project, residential facilities for students and teachers will be provided for the schools in remote locations, he said.

With the fund sanctioned by the World Bank, this project aimed at providing housing, enhancing the enrollment rate of students in schools, improving the quality of education and promoting science and commerce education in secondary schools of the state, he said.

The project will help compensate for the learning loss during COVID-19, he said. Teachers will be provided training to make the classroom lessons fun-learning and engaging experience for the students under the project, which will also create better employment opportunities in the "fast-growing manufacturing and service sectors" in Chhattisgarh, he added.