US$3.5M COVID grant approved to boost Guyana’s Education Sector
THE Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has approved a US$3.5M grant for the Government of Guyana to support its education sector amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Guyana Chronicle was reliably informed that the said grant was approved by the GPE’s Board of Directors, following a request put in by the Government. The GPE is supporting developing countries to mitigate the impact of school closures on children and to build the resilience of education systems.
Along with the sum, the GPE has also approved a 7 per cent agency fee for the grant agent – the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in the amount of US$245,000.
According to the GPE, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an education emergency of unprecedented scale. In developing countries, which were already facing a learning crisis before the pandemic, it estimates that 771 million children are now cut off from schools.
It has already mobilised over US$500M to support partner countries with planning and implementing their response to the pandemic. GPE stated that it remains committed to working to promote coordinated responses that are country-driven, aligned behind government priorities and to share information and experiences.
