GPE announces $110 million in aid for education in Afghanistan

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has said that it approved grants totaling $110 million to support children’s education in Afghanistan.

Over the next two years, the grants will help Afghan girls and boys continue to participate in community-based education and better learn basic skills in public schools. The programs are expected to reach more than 7.66 million children across the country, GPE said in a statement.

“We are very pleased to be able to continue our support to education in Afghanistan,” said Laura Frigenti, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education. “This funding, channeled through UNICEF and Save the Children, partners that have a lot of experience working in complex settings, will help the hardest-to-reach Afghan children to access the education they need to become productive members of society and build a better future,“ she added.

The $59.5 million grant overseen by UNICEF will ensure that children in remote and difficult to reach areas, especially girls, can continue to attend community-based classes, including by providing supplies and textbooks and supporting community teacher’s salaries. In addition, the program will provide new textbooks, teacher guides and other school supplies to around 15,000 public schools. Over 28,000 teachers and headmasters will receive training to strengthen teaching of math and reading as well as classroom management, GPE said.

The $50 million grant overseen by Save the Children will focus on community-based education, ensuring that girls and boys living in remote areas can continue to learn in safe spaces. This will include improvements to school buildings and rehabilitation of water and sanitation facilities, and procuring equipment and textbooks for classrooms. The grant will also train young women to become primary school teachers, according to GPE.