The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $400 million loan to support the Government of Sri Lanka in transforming its secondary education system to align with the demand for highly skilled and agile workers who can compete in the rapidly changing global economy.

Sri Lanka aspires to be an advanced knowledge economy and has targeted education and skilled labor as national priorities. The Secondary Education Sector Improvement Program will support reforms under the government’s General Education Sector Development Plan, 2020–2025, particularly on upper secondary education. The program will benefit about 953,000 students annually, with skills that will benefit successive generations of students.

The program will equip the young population with knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and commerce, which are fields of high economic relevance for Sri Lanka. It will enhance readiness for further education in STEM fields and foster competencies for higher productivity and adaptability. To achieve this, the program will reform the curricula, instruction, and assessment systems to focus on practical application of knowledge and integrate cognitive and socio-emotional skills. The program also focuses on improving teaching quality and teacher training given the importance of quality of teaching and method of instruction on learning. More than 47,000 upper secondary education teachers will be trained on inquiry-based and interactive learning approaches to increase student interest and engagement with subject content and inspire a love of learning.

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