The Government of Nepal and the World Bank signed a financing agreement for an additional grant of US$10.85 million to the School Sector Development Program (SSDP) to maintain access to basic education and continued learning for children amid the COVID-19 crisis. The government’s SSDP is a sector-wide program supported by IDA credit of US$185 million, together with support from Asian Development Bank, European Union, Finland, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Japan International Cooperation Agency, Norway, USAID, UNICEF and REACH Multi-Donor Trust Fund administered by the World Bank. The program aims to improve the quality, equitable access, and efficiency of basic and secondary education in Nepal. As per World Bank Nepal, The additional grant from the GPE COVID-19 Accelerated Funds will contribute to the implementation of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s COVID-19 contingency plan to mitigate and respond to the potential impacts of the pandemic on the education sector. The agreement was signed by the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Shreekrishna Nepal on behalf of the Government of Nepal and by the World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Mr. Faris Hadad-Zervos..
