Luanda - The World Bank (WB) has pledged USD 110 million to assist about 900, 000 Angolan young people in the first cycle of secondary education, until 2025.
The announcement was made by its representative, Ema Monsalves, on Thursday in Icolo e Bengo, Luanda province.
The WB official was speaking during the handover of scholarships to more than 20,000 students in the provinces of Luanda and Bengo, during a ceremony chaired by the minister of Education, Luísa Grilo.
According to the WB representative, the programme will support families to keep young people in education, with special attention to girls.
She referred that investments like these are an important path for Angola, aimed at accelerating the reduction of poverty, in a systematic and lasting way.
Indeed, a reduction in school dropouts is expected, particularly favoring the permanence of girls who, otherwise, would have dropped out of school.
According to Ema Monsalves, interventions like these have already proven to be able to increase school attendance and student learning in many countries around the world.
Through the scholarship programme, it is expected that most young people will complete secondary education, and will be able to acquire the necessary skills to access the best opportunities of the future.
"We are very proud to support the government of Angola and believe that investing in men is the best path to prosperity," she said.
For this reason, she added, the World Bank is confident that after this pilot phase, in which covered four municipalities, conditions will quickly be created for the expansion of scholarships throughout the country.
The ceremony was attended by the secretary of state for education, the deputy governors for the political and social sector of the provinces of Luanda and Bengo, municipal administrators, representatives of the World Bank, students, guardians, among others. AJQ
