The ministry provides education to 8 million children who attend madrasah (religious schools) under its supervision. It represents 15 percent of 53 million children going to school of those grades, the Washington-based lender wrote in a statement made available on Friday.

These schools, along with those under the Education and Culture Ministry, follow the national curriculum and enroll more children from the poorest families in rural areas inside the fourth-largest education system in the world.

“This project is an important component of the Indonesian government's efforts to strengthen human capital and improve the quality of its education system. Improving the quality and efficiency of all education spending is crucial.” Rodrigo A. Chaves, World Bank country director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, said in the statement.

“Finding ways for schools to better spend available funds is essential to help Indonesian children obtain improved educational outcomes, making these young people more successful in the labor market.”

Supported by the new loan, the government’s Realizing Education’s Promise project will address existing constraints through a nationwide and electronic planning and budgeting system to promote more efficient spending, as well as formulate a school grant system to improve students’ performance in National Education Standard testing, especially for resource-constrained schools.

To measure the results, the project will support the implementation of the nationwide assessment for 4th grade students going to schools under the Religious Affairs Ministry. The project will also finance training for educational personnel in order to support improved teaching and learning, and invest in data collection and analysis to improve the ministry's management of its schools. 

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