Above: Suriname (IDB Photo/Willie Heinz)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Suriname will soon receive a $13.7 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to improve the quality of education in the country.

The loan, which has been approved by the IDB, will support Suriname’s plan to strengthen the efficiency and quality of the new basic education system in the country, along with supporting educational outcomes for students from pre-primary through junior secondary.

“Improving the learning outcomes in core subjects of Dutch and mathematics, training all of Suriname’s approximately 5,000 primary school teachers, supporting efforts to streamline the education system and exploring the use of information and communication technologies in schools will dramatically improve graduates’ ability to access the labour market,” said IDB project team leader Annelle Bellony.

The IDB will finance Suriname’s two-phased education programme, with the first phase addressing the curriculum framework for the basic education system and the second addressing the learning outcomes of students in grades 1 to 8.

The loan is for a 20-year term, with a four-year grace period and a LIBOR-based interest rate.

Suriname’s government is contributing $750,000 to the progarmme’s budget.