Tanzania benefits from $500 million World Bank education loan

By Amos Fofung

Bretton woods monetary institution, the World Bank has approved a $500 million education loan for Tanzania education system.

In a statement Wednesday, April 1, 2020, the World Bank said the education package will directly benefit about 6.5 million secondary school students by strengthening government-run schools and establishing stronger educational pathways for students.

"Every child in Tanzania deserves a good education, but thousands are denied this life-changing opportunity each year. This project puts the country's young people front and center; it also dedicates two-thirds of its resources to better and safer learning environments for girls," said Mara Warwick, World Bank country director for Tanzania.

"This is an important step in addressing the challenges that Tanzania's children face throughout their education. The World Bank will continue our dialogue with the government on broader issues concerning equal treatment of schoolchildren," she added in the statement.

Tanzania implements free basic education policy which increased enrolment in primary schools. However, secondary education is said to suffer from low quality and high rate of dropout. According to Jaime Saavedra, global director for education for the World Bank, "Tanzania, like many countries around the world, is suffering from a learning crisis, where children are either not in school, or are in school but not learning.”