JICA signed an agreement with the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance to implement activities of the Fourth Primary Education Development Program (PEDP4) on June 20, 2023, at the NEC-2 Conference Room, Planning Commission Campus, Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, Agargaon, in the city, a press release said Thursday.
The signing agreement was attended by Iwama Kiminori, Ambassador, Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh; Ms. Sharifa Khan, Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance; and Mr. Ichiguchi Tomohide, Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh.
Since the 1990s, the Bangladesh government has been working to enhance the quality of primary education through PEDP (Primary Education Development Programme) and has attained impressive results over the years. However, the expansion of quality education continues to be a challenge; thus, in 2011, JICA and other development partners started supporting the government in the PEDP. PEDP4 is a seven-year program that aims to provide quality education to all children in Bangladesh from pre-primary to Grade 5 through an inclusive and equitable education system. The project started on July 2018 and will continue until June 2025.
JICA has been providing both technical and financial support to Bangladesh. JICA will provide Grant Assistance of 500 million Japanese Yen (BDT 37.8 Crore) for PEDP4. Previously, JICA signed three agreements of 500 million Japanese Yen each for Year 1 to Year 3 of PEPP4.
JICA has also provided technical support to Bangladesh for PEDP2 and PEDP3, mainly targeting to improve the quality of primary mathematics and science education. For PEDP2, JICA Support Program 1 (JSP1) supported the development of the Teaching Packaging for primary mathematics and science. For PEDP3, JICA Support Program 2 (JSP2) upgraded the mathematics and science textbooks, teacher’s guides from Grade 1 to Grade 5, implemented a few teacher’s development courses by creating manuals and textbooks, and advised and monitored the course implementation. For PEDP4, JICA Support Program 3 (JSP3) and Education Policy Advisor are working on the Strengthening Mathematics and Science in Primary Education Project.
