ADB $100m loan for education

JAKARTA (Agencies): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Saturday that it had approved a US$100 million loan to Indonesia for an education project intended to help some 1.26 million poor children, a report said.

The loan will support the continued decentralization of basic education management in Indonesia and will be implemented by local governments, communities and schools in rural districts in West Nusa Tenggara province, poor districts in Bali and impoverished communities in Jakarta, the ADB said in a statement issued by its headquarters in the Philippines capital of Manila as quoted by AFP.

Poor children in secondary and primary schools and their communities will be the main beneficiaries of the project to revamp school facilities, buy and deliver textbooks and supplies and help children complete basic education, the ADB said.

The ADB loan will have a term of 32 years including a grace period of eight years. It will carry an interest rate of one percent per year during the grace period and 1.5 percent thereafter.