Funding earmarked for the construction of new classrooms under the Federal Government’s World Bank-supported education programme has fallen by 55.3 per cent following a restructuring of the $500 million HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All project.
According to a World Bank restructuring document, allocations dedicated to building new primary school classrooms through community participation were reduced from $5.7 million to $2.55 million after adjustments were made to the Global Partnership for Education financing component of the programme.
The HOPE-Education programme was approved in March 2025 with a $500 million International Development Association credit and a $52.18 million grant from the Global Partnership for Education, aimed at improving literacy, expanding access to education, and strengthening school systems across participating states.
According to the Bank, the restructuring was prompted by a reduction in Nigeria’s allocation under the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) System Transformation Grant, which fell from $107.59 million to $53.98 million.
The document also showed a sharp cut in funding for government-community agreements supporting classroom construction, with allocations reduced from $500,000 to $300,000, reflecting broader adjustments under the programme.
Similarly, funding allocated for delivering 13,000 new classrooms was reduced from $5.2 million to $2.25 million. Despite the cuts, the programme maintained its target of constructing 13,000 primary school classrooms by June 2029, with the World Bank stating that the restructuring did not change the project’s development objectives, implementation structure, or closing date.
The lender also confirmed that the project became effective on February 26, 2026 and is still in the early stages of implementation.
It further noted that none of the $500 million International Development Association credit had been disbursed at the time of restructuring, leaving the entire facility undrawn.
Although funding under some components was reduced, the programme’s scope was expanded.
The World Bank disclosed that activities under Results Area 1 would now extend to 33 states, up from the initial 30 approved under the programme.
Abia State, Bauchi State, and Kwara State were newly added as beneficiaries under the revised arrangement.
The report further noted that the Federal Government proposed that the reduced Global Partnership for Education allocation be fully managed by the World Bank after UNICEF ceased co-managing part of the original funding structure.
According to the document, “the Government of Nigeria proposed the reduced allocation be managed entirely by the World Bank through HOPE-Education, while requesting the addition of three states previously endorsed to receive support through the UNICEF STG funding amount.”
While financing for classroom construction declined, funding for teaching materials and school grants increased under the revised structure.
The World Bank introduced new disbursement-linked indicators requiring that at least 80% per cent of public primary schools in participating GPE states are equipped with adequate literacy and numeracy materials for both lower and upper primary levels.
Consequently, allocations for teaching and learning materials rose from $6.67 million to $10.99 million.
Funding for annual school grants also increased from $4.73 million to $7.87 million, while allocations for annual school census reporting grew from $4.45 million to $5.68 million.
