Shorouk Express
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 13. The Islamic
Development Bank (IsDB), supported by a major grant from the Global
Partnership for Education (GPE), has signed a landmark education
project financing agreement with the Government of Uzbekistan aimed
at significantly enhancing the quality, inclusiveness, and
efficiency of the country’s preschool and school education system,
Trend
reports.
During the ceremony, IsDB President, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser
signed the agreement with H.E. Dr. Khilola Umarova, Minister of
Preschool and School Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The
signing took place on the margins of the Human Capability
Initiative (HCI) Conference in Riyadh and was attended by Ms. Laura
Frigenti, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).
The Smart Education Program, approved by the IsDB and GPE Boards
on 15 December 2024 and 18 October 2023 respectively, marks IsDB’s
largest investment in Uzbekistan’s education sector to date. The
total project cost is US$220.25 million, with US$160.25 million
financed by IsDB, a US$40 million grant from GPE, and a US$20
million contribution from the Government of Uzbekistan.
This project is fully aligned with Uzbekistan’s national
education strategies and aims to improve the quality and efficiency
of the education system and will contribute to the attainment of
the SDG-4. The project also aligns with Pillar 2, “Inclusive Human
Capital Development” of the IsDB Strategic Realignment
2023-2025.
Further, the 5-year Project implementation has already begun,
with early priorities including school construction and the
finalization of implementation agreements with UNICEF and
UNESCO.
With a rapidly growing school-age population and pressing needs
to expand infrastructure and improve education quality, this Smart
Education (Smart ED) Project will improve learning environments and
strengthen systems for sustainable, inclusive, and competency-based
education. The project outcome includes the construction of 58
inclusive schools and 2,431 classrooms, all fully equipped with
laboratories, furniture, and digital infrastructure in 11 regions
of the country and the capital city Tashkent
Beyond infrastructure, the project supports comprehensive system
reforms, including the development of competency-based curricula,
updated teaching and learning materials, enhanced teacher
preparation systems, and improved student assessment and school
evaluation mechanisms, with a strong emphasis on inclusion.
The project is expected to benefit over 72,930 students,
including girls and children with disabilities, and will support
the training of 36,115 educators and staff. SmartEd directly
contributes to IsDB’s strategic goals for inclusive human capital
development and expanding access to quality education across its
Member Countries.
