World Bank approves cash for classrooms

The World Bank has approved a request from the Kenyan government to restructure a Sh20 billion loan, to provide additional funds for the construction of classrooms in public secondary schools. 

This comes days after schools re-opened for the first time since March last year at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with concerns about how learners and teachers will maintain physical distance required to stop the spread of Covid-19.

“The government has requested reallocation of funds to ensure financing for the planned infrastructure, which includes WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene services) and adequate classrooms to reduce overcrowding in classrooms,” said the World Bank in a document released recently.

“The evaluation of bids for infrastructure improvements showed that the initial estimates of the works were inadequate with the result that a gap of Sh900 million has emerged.”

The restructuring involves the Sh20 billion Kenya Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project approved in 2017 and scheduled to run until 2023.

The project was meant to support 7,852 primary and 2,147 secondary schools in 30 counties that are economically and conditionally disadvantaged. 

It has four components, including improving quality of teaching, expanding retention and transition in secondary schools and supporting curriculum reforms.

“Euro 2.2 million (Sh293 million) will be reallocated from this performance-based condition to Category 2 to secure financing for works for school infrastructure improvements,” the World Bank said.

Another Sh492 million will be reallocated from the project management, monitoring and evaluation component to school infrastructure.

The bank said the relocation is also based on savings made last year during the pandemic when monitoring activity was muted.

So far, the World Bank has disbursed Sh6 billion with Sh14.5 billion expected over the next three years.