Monrovia, Liberia: In a noteworthy move, the World Bank’s board has approved financing for the ‘Excellence in Learning in Liberia’ (EXCEL) Project.
The funds include a $60 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) and a $28.7 million grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).
The project will focus on delivering foundational literacy and numeracy skills through a structured pedagogy approach in targeted schools, covering the final year of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and all six grades of primary education nationwide.
It also seeks to develop a Foundational Learning Program (FLP), with coordinated plans that cover three elements, including prioritization of curriculum, development and distribution of aligned teaching and learning materials, and delivering foundational learning instruction in classrooms.
According to the bank, the project is designed to improve foundational learning and access in public primary schools, as well as strengthen the education sector.
It marks the first project directly supported by the World Bank under the new 2025-2030 World Bank Group (WBG) Country Partnership Framework (CPF), which focuses on building foundations for more and better jobs in Liberia.
“The Excellence in Learning Project breaks new ground as the most far-reaching project financed by the World Bank in the education sector in Liberia. It supports the ambitions of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID) to transform the education sector, laying the building blocks for a strong and resilient education system,” says Georgia Wallen, World Bank Liberia Country Manager.
According to the group, the project implementation will largely concentrate on improving the learning environment, raising awareness of school-related gender-based violence, enhancing the quality and frequency of education sector data updates, strengthening school supervision through district officers, and fostering stronger community engagement to benefit the entire school community.
A World Bank-issued press release in the possession of KMTV says, about 48% of the direct project beneficiaries will be female, and approximately 14,000 school management committee members, along with Ministry of Education staff at both the central and county levels, will receive capacity-building support.”
Expected to be implemented across the 15 counties of Liberia, the project is anticipated to reach over 2,000 public primary schools, and 362,000 students, teachers, and staff are expected to benefit directly from project interventions, while 350,000 students in the last grade of ECE and all six grades of primary education will receive improved teaching and learning materials and instruction in foundational literacy and numeracy over the project period.
