The World Bank has approved a $500 million for Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS). The STARS program seeks to improve the quality and governance of school education in six Indian states namely Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan. STARS program will help India in renewing focus on addressing the ‘learning outcome’ challenge. It will also help the students in preparing for the jobs of the future via series of reform initiatives. These reform initiatives includes:
- Focusing more directly on the delivery of education services at the state, district and sub district levels.
- Addressing demands from stakeholders, especially parents, for greater accountability and inclusion.
- Equipping teachers to manage the transformation.
- Investing more in developing India’s human capital needs.
The STARS program builds on the long partnership between India and the World Bank and will strengthen the public school education and also support India’s goal of providing “Education for All”. It is expected to benefit about 250 million students (between the age of 6 and 17) in 1.5 million schools, including over 10 million teachers.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- President of World Bank: David Malpass.