World Bank Acting Country Director Said Al-Habsy and Secretary Economic Affairs Division Furrukh Qayyum and education secretaries of Punjab and Sindh signed the agreement here on Tuesday.

Under the agreement, the World Bank would give $350 million to Punjab and $300 million to Sindh Education Departments for three years. Besides, the bank would also offer a soft loan of $250 million for projects launched by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund.

The secretary economic affairs informed the media after the signing ceremony that the World Bank Board was scheduled to meet on June 18 to approve $150 million for Income Support Programme, $100 million for Higher Education Commission (HEC) and $75 million for the polio eradication.

He added that the WB board would also meet on June 30 to approve $60 million for social safety network and $30 million for technical assistance for Thar coal project.

Secretary Education Punjab Nadeem Ashraf and Secretary Education Sindh Rizwan Memon were of the view that these loans would improve the quality of education and the enrolment. “The primary objective is to improve access and equity in the field of education,” they added.

PPAF Managing Director Kamal Hayat said that the fund was operating in 38,000 villages and the new financing would further improve its working in the remotest parts of the country.