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Literacy Project In Bangladesh Will Improve Life Skills

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (14 December 2001) - More than a million largely illiterate adults in Bangladesh will read and write better, thus improving their vocational and life skills, through a $65-million loan approved today by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Most of the beneficiaries will be women.

The innovative Post-Literacy and Continuing Education Project will establish courses geared to market opportunities in 29 rural districts. It will also develop a policy framework and high-quality curricula and materials, as well as upgrade teacher skills.

More than a third of the country's adult population cannot read, severely limiting their quality of life and employment potential. Since 1991, the government has funded basic literacy programs for 17 million people and the ADB project aims to reach 1.6 million people in rural areas who did not go to primary school.

"Reading will help women better understand health and education matters, for example, and these benefits will be passed on to the family," says ADB education advisor Peter Fedon.

The project's success depends heavily on decentralized implementation by nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and community participation. A broad range of stakeholders, including community groups, has helped to design the project and will continue to be involved to make sure the needs of poor learners are met. The project includes capacity building for local NGOs to implement the courses as well as for Government agencies for supervisory and regulatory functions. Local consulting firms will monitor the quality of service delivery.

The Government of the United Kingdom, through its Department for International Development, is cofinancing the project with a grant of $12 million.

The ADB loan will come from its concessional Asian Development Fund. It will be repayable over 32 years, including a grace period of eight years. Interest will be charged at 1 percent a year during the grace period and 1.5 percent per annum thereafter.

The Directorate of Non-Formal Education will be the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion in 2008.

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