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ADB Helps Education Reforms and School Improvement in Rural Tajikistan

DUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN (07 May 2009) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will next month complete its education sector reform project in Tajikistan, aimed at improving the quality of primary and general secondary education and helping children get and complete their schooling.

ADB provided a US$7.5 million loan, while the Government of Tajikistan contributed over $1.8 million for this project which supports the Government's goal of poverty reduction.

The project's main objective is to help the Ministry of Education at the national level to manage education reforms and accelerate school improvement and rehabilitation in five pilot rural districts: Ayni and Gornaya Matcha in the Sogd Region; Roshkala in the Gorno-Badahshan Autonomous Region; Kulyab in the Khatlon Region; and Rasht in the Rayons of Republican Subordination.

"I am very pleased to see parents and teachers take charge of the educational well-being of their children. They participate in the education process and feel responsible for its results," says Makoto Ojiro, ADB's Country Director for Tajikistan, who visited Rasht District on 5 May and met students, parents, and teachers in schools that were rehabilitated under the project.

The project has completed most of its planned education sector tasks. A series of policies and laws to improve management efficiency has been developed, while management structures and systems have been reorganized. The project supported development of the education management information system, trained education officials and school managers in pilot districts in policy, planning, and financial management; rehabilitated or repaired 77 schools and 4 district education departments; developed new curricula and learning materials for Tajik language and physics; and set up 237 parent-teacher associations in pilot districts and established ways for them to better their financial management and planning.

The President's Office is the executing agency, with the Ministry of Education acting as the implementing agency for the project, which was approved in December 2003.

Since 1998, ADB has provided 9 loans, grants and technical assistance projects totaling over $21 million to the education sector of Tajikistan.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2008, it approved $10.5 billion of loans, $811.4 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $274.5 million.

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