The World Bank will supply USD600 million in credit to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a national program to provide quality education to children aged 6 to 14 in India. “The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan program has served as a powerful vehicle to mobilize stakeholders at all community, district, state, and national levels around the objective of ensuring that every child from 6 to 14 years is included in the education system,” according to World Bank country director Isabel Guerrero. “The challenge now is to include those hardest to reach and to ensure that children get the quality education which is a critical foundation for both higher levels of education and creating the skills needed to have a significant impact on economic development.” Now on its second phase, the initiative aims to enhance quality with equity by deploying teachers to and building primary and upper primary schools in areas where access to education remains a challenge. (Press release: World Bank Supports India?s Elementary Education Program with USD600 Million/World Bank)
