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Education: 5 states to get $500m



The World Bank has set aside $500 million dollars as grant to fund basic education in five states for five years, Information Officer, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Helen Okoro said yesterday.

Okoro, in a statement said head of World Bank International Reconstruction and Development team, Olatunde Adekola, disclosed the grant in Abuja.

She said Adekola explained that the fund was for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), established to improve access to quality education at the basic level in Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Sokoto and Katsina states.

Okoro also said Adekola commended the Federal Government for the Nigerian Partnership for Education Project (NIPEP) project and added that it was the first time government would focus on strategies aimed at moving the basic education sub-sector forward.

She said the $2.5 billion credit the Federal Government requested from the World Bank to finance the 2016 budget could only be released after fulfilling certain conditions.

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