Khartoum - The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has announced the allocation of a grant of 59 million dollars

to strengthen basic education in Sudan, funded by the International Partnership for Education, to be implemented under the supervision of the World Bank.
Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohamed Osman Al-Rikabi, who addressed a workshop on strengthening basic education, organized by the Ministry of Finance here yesterday, said that the international partnership pledged an additional $ 15 million, provided that the Government of the Sudan provides $ 45 million from other sources.
The minister renewed the government's interest in the education sector in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development, as it is one of the most important tools to combat poverty in the country, reviewing the state policies supporting the renaissance and development of education, in addition to supporting of development partners from the international community.
For her part, Minister of Education, Asia Mohamed Abdullah said that Sudan was one of the first countries to harmonize the national indicators with the global indicators of sustainable development of the fourth goal of education, pointing to the focus on the education of girls and refugees, displaced persons and returnees to their homeland.
State Minister for International Cooperation, Sumaiya Ukud said that the government aims to increase the expenditure on education to reach 20% of GDP by 2020, calling on development partners to increase their contribution to support education in Sudan.
For his part, World Bank Resident Representative in Khartoum revealed that the bank is seeking to hold a roundtable in the spring meetings in April to attract international support for education in Sudan.
Representative of the African Development Bank stressed the bank's interest in supporting education in the technical, vocational education aspects, building the capacity of teachers, and creating the education environment in general.
Representative of UNICEF said that they are concerned with children and their protection and attention to education, as well as humanitarian action and support for education in all its aspects.