YANGON, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- A loan of 100 million U.S. dollars from the World Bank International Development Association (IDA) is being sought in Myanmar's Union Parliament, parliament sources said Wednesday.
The loan is meant for the Ministry of Education to conduct inclusive access and quality education program and will be carried out in 115 townships, Minister of Education Myo Thein Gyi told the parliament on Tuesday.
He clarified that the aim of the loan is for all students in the basic education schools to have access to learning opportunities for out-of-school school-age youngsters and to strengthen financial and management ability.
The world bank loan represents part of the program's total value of 180 million U.S. dollars, while 70 million dollars was a grant from Global Partner for Education and 10 million dollars was a grant from the European Union, he said.
As part of the efforts to reduce drop-outs from schools, the out-of-school quality education will be provided to 77,000 out-of-school school-age youngsters under the four-year program, he added.
The World Bank IDA loan is for 30 years with a grace period of five years. Loan repayment period is 25 years with 3.3 percent of the total loan to be paid back annually, according to the minister.
