(Image source from: Bihar gets USD 250 Million for Primary School Teachers from World Bank)

The World Bank announced a credit of USD 250 million to Bihar government for the next five years to improve the standards of teachers in elementary schools. The credit would be spent on training to make them more qualified, accountable and responsive.

The Bihar government’s school education reform programme (also known as Manav Vikas programme), will be empowered to train around 450,000 teachers in government elementary schools in Bihar including 65,000 new unqualified entrants. The number teachers would go up to 600,000 by 2020. These teachers will be given certificate through Open Distance Learning (ODL).

Nearly 21.2 million elementary school students will be benefited in the form of ethical and qualitative education from the programme.

The Bank would monitor the periodical developments and fund distributions for effective teaching practices, improved teacher performance, strong accountability measures. "In order to improve the learning outcomes of children in Bihar, it is critical that robust systems for developing high- quality teachers are in place," World Bank Country Director in India, Onno Ruhl said. "This programme will equip teachers with the skill and knowledge they need to be more effective in the classroom by focusing on teacher training, performance, and accountability," he added.

World Bank has been giving loans and funds to various states in India to develop rural areas through infrastructure and sanitation.

-Kannamsai