Tug-of-war over a $500-mn World Bank loan to transform school education

World Bank says loan will boost public-service delivery without enabling privatisation; experts against handing over primary education to non-state entities, find project goals dissonant

On June 24, 2020, the World Bank cleared a $500-million (about Rs 3,700-crore) loan to improve the quality and governance of school education in six Indian states. The Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS) was to support India’s focus on addressing the learning outcome challenge and help students acquire skills to better prepare for jobs of the future — through a series of reform initiatives.

In less than a month of the announcement, the project and the loan have raised considerable concerns across the country. Many experts say handing over of primary education to non-state entities is not the