EAA Acting CEO, Mohamed Saad Al Kubaisi; and ADB Vice-President for Sectors and Themes, Fatima Yasmin during the signing ceremony at the Doha Forum 2024, yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: The global education fund, Education Above All (EAA), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed an agreement to co-finance ADB’s education projects and to address pressing issues in the sector.
The total budget of this collaboration is nearly $250m which includes $100m in grants from the EAA Foundation with the support of the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and $150m in loans from ADB.
The partnership deal was signed by the EAA Acting CEO, Mohamed Saad Al Kubaisi, and ADB Vice President for Sectors and Themes, Fatima Yasmin at the Doha Forum, yesterday.
Mohammed Al Kubaisi stated: “Our partnership with the ADB marks a pivotal moment in advancing education and skills development for those who need it most. By combining ADB’s expertise and resources with our commitment to empowering vulnerable communities, we aim to create meaningful opportunities that enable beneficiaries to unlock their full potential."
Together, we aim to provide not only access to education but also the skills needed to thrive in today’s rapidly changing world. This collaboration is an important step in building a more inclusive, resilient future for all.”
Social Sector Director at ADB, Shanti Jagannathan
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Social Sector Director at ADB, Shanti Jagannathan said “We are absolutely delighted to initiate a new phase of the partnership that can help to address some of the thorny issues and bottlenecks in education systems.”
The official noted that this collaboration enhances and implements new approaches to equity and inclusion, particularly post-COVID.
While access has been achieved substantially, ensuring quality education globally remains a challenge. She said “Digital inequalities can be critical bottlenecks if young people do not get adequate digital skills. It is not enough for girls and women to have access to high-quality education and training. They need to get jobs and entrepreneurship of matching caliber with boys and men.
ADB executive further stressed that the partnership aims to strengthen the role of education in climate action. “In our region, the number of people displaced by climate-related disasters exceeds those displaced by armed conflict. Not only do education systems need to be made more climate resilient, but we also need to develop new approaches in education and training for climate action. Education can be one of the most powerful tools for climate resilience. It is commendable that COP29 which just concluded held the human capital day for the first time,” Jagannathan said.
Remarking on ADB’s plans to address ongoing education challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, Jagannathan underscored that ADB's education portfolio is nearly $6bn and the pipeline of new education projects and programmes is over $3bn for 2024-2026.
Jagannathan explained “While investing in centers of excellence, piloting new approaches, or introducing new pedagogies, we need to keep quality at scale in mind. Interventions need to be fit to purpose. Whether it is Bangladesh or Nepal in South Asia, Indonesia or Cambodia in South East Asia, Afghanistan or Tajikistan in Central West Asia, or the small Pacific Island counties, education systems need to cater to diversified needs.”
ADB’s projects and programs are spread across 26 developing member countries across the Asia and Pacific region which require targeted approaches. She said, “In raising quality standards, while we need to catch up on lags and gaps, policymakers also need to be in tune with rapidly changing marketplaces at national, regional, and international levels.”
Some of ADB’s core areas of focus include improving STEM education in schools and colleges, learning from the disruptions of COVID, and the possibilities of digital transformation to improve the quality of education while also building technological capacities for a world where AI, robotics, to use the lever of education for combating climate change.
She noted “Partnerships are crucial. No one organization can do it alone. We also need to build a critical mass of investments, and talk more of the same shared language for improving equity through education and reducing administrative burden on partner governments.”
“We also need to constantly build new knowledge, learning, diagnostics, and evidence for better policy reforms and implementation. We have several co-financing partnerships and also knowledge-sharing initiatives, which are critical to pave the way for good policies and implementation,” Jagannathan added.
