World Bank approves USD 500 mn under STARS program to improve education system in India

The World Bank has approved a loan of USD 500 million (about Rs 3,700 crore) to improve the quality and governance of school education across six states in India. World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved the loan on June 24 under the "Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program" (STARS) program, according to an official statement. 

"Some 250 million students (between the age of 6 and 17) in 1.5 million schools, and over 10 million teachers will benefit from the program. The STARS program builds on the long partnership between India and the World Bank (since 1994), for strengthening public school education and to support the country's goal of providing Education for All," read the statement by World Bank.

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According to the World Bank, apart from the STARS program, the loan would also help programs of the government at a national level including the "Samagra Shiksha" program which has been launched in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan. "STARS will also help improve learning assessment systems, strengthen classroom instruction and remediation, facilitate school-to-work transition, and strengthen governance and decentralised management," read the statement by World Bank. 

"STARS will support India’s response to this challenge by strengthening implementation at the local level, investing in teacher capacity and ensuring that no child of any background is left behind from the right to education," said World Bank Country Director in India Junaid Ahmad.

Prior to STARS, the World Bank had provided total assistance of more than USD 3 billion towards strengthening the education system in the country. 

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(With Agency Inputs)