Aus aid to focus more on education in Bangladesh

Australian aid programmes will focus more on the education sector in Bangladesh this year than before.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 29 Sept 2014, 09:19 AM
Updated : 29 Sept 2014, 06:07 PM

According to its High Commission in Dhaka, in this fiscal it will spend AUD 32.6 million on education, which is over one-third of the Australia’s total aid spending in Bangladesh.

Last fiscal the amount was AUD 29.3 million.

Education is a “cornerstone” of Australia’s aid programme in Bangladesh, the high commission says in a media release on Monday.

The main focus is primary education, but there will be programmes for secondary schools, young women, ethnic minority children, and children with special needs.

The government, global lender World Bank, United Nations Children Fund (Unicef) and BRAC are their partners in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has one of the largest education systems in the world with over 30 million students enrolled from pre-school to higher education institutions.

High Commissioner Greg Wilcock on Sep 24 paid a two-day visit to schools in Kushtia and met teachers and students who are benefiting from Australia’s support.

He also visited Rabindranath Tagore’s house Kuthibari, and Lalon Shah Mazar for a concert by the Lalon Academy’s musicians, the High Commission says.