March 12, 2004

Washington, DC

The World Bank's Board of Directors approved on March 9, an IDA Credit of US$78 million to support reforms in the education sector in Ghana.

The Education Sector credit will promote equitable access and efficient delivery of quality services in pre-tertiary education and more relevance in tertiary education. It will help improve enrollment rate nationwide with an emphasis on girls' enrollment.

The proposed project will also help improve management skills and build the capacity of key actors in the sector.? Staff in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports will have access to accurate data that will help them make informed decisions and better budget programming and execution, leading to a better use of resources.

"The Education Sector Project will help reduce geographical and gender inequalities in access and retention in basic education, and introduce a compensatory scheme for girls" said Benoit Millot, World Bank Task Team Leader for the project, it will target the most deprived regions and help increase the percentage of graduates from Polytechnics and University for Development Studies.

Activities under the project will assist the government in meeting the Education for All (EFA) goal which is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The credit is on standard International Development Association (IDA) terms, with a commitment fee of 0.5%, a service charge of 0.75%, and a maturity of 40 years, including a 10-year period of grace.

For more information on the World Bank's work in Ghana visit: www.worldbank.org/afr/gh/.