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Azerbaijan Education Sector Development Project II prioritizes general education

14 August 2008 13:11 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ilhama Isabalayeva â€“ APA-Economics. Phase II of the Azerbaijan Education Sector Development Project between the World Bank and the Government of Azerbaijan will mainly focus on general education, teacher training and preschool fields.
Elvin Rustamov, Azerbaijani Education Ministryâ€™s coordinator for the project, said there will also be reforms in vocational technical schools and higher schools.
According to him, the draft loan agreement of the project is being considered at the presidential administration.
The World Bank Board of Directors approved a USD 25 million loan for Azerbaijan Education Sector Development Project.
The project seeks to maximize learning achievements for all students to meet the needs of a market economy and improve the efficiency of general education.
The development objective of Phase I was to strengthen the capacity to plan and manage the reform program more effectively and efficiently.
The Program comprises a broad spectrum of activities, which promotes the objectives of improved educational quality, equity in access to education, and the efficient use of available resources in the education sector.
Phase 2 envisions Curriculum Development, Teacher Development, Rationalization & School Improvement and other components.
The Government of Azerbaijan will allocate $20.4 million and UNICEF will also make contribution.
The first $18 million loan agreement for Phase I was signed in September, 2003. The Government of Azerbaijan provided $2.8 million and the Open Society Institute - Assistance Foundation extended $0.18 million for Phase I.
The World Bank will have contributed $60 million to Azerbaijan for the 2003-2013 project.