Mumbai - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it is providing more than one mln textbooks to senior secondary schools across Indonesia‘s Aceh province and Nias Island as part of the 16 mln usd grant for the education component of the Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project (ETESP).
The ADB said its multi-sector support to earthquake and tsunami affected areas in Aceh and Nias is channeled through a 291 mln usd grant for the implementation of ETESP.
The textbooks on biology, chemistry, physics, information and communication technology, English and mathematics will replace outdated editions and replenish chronic shortages of the new 2006 curriculum textbooks being introduced to the schools this year, the agency said.
The Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) is implementing the education component, which will give more than 100,000 senior secondary students at 395 schools access to the 1.39 mln new textbooks, it added.
The grant also includes upgrading libraries for all the schools and the construction and equipping of laboratories for practical science and computing for 50 schools, the ADB stated.
‘There has been a delay in the distribution of the books because of the introduction of a new curriculum in 2006 and by ADB and BRR‘s decision to double the level of their support to cover at least 90 pct of schools in Aceh and Nias,‘ Cut Cayarani Bitai, BRR‘s deputy of social services said in a statement.
Source: www.forbes.com (17 November 2007)
