The funds are part of the $1.815 billion Second Primary Education Development Programme II (PEDP II) aimed at raising the standards of primary education to be executed by the Directorate of Primary and Mass Education.

The six-year programme starts next year, ADB's Country Director Toru Shibuichi told a press briefing at the ADB office.

He said the programme represents a 'pioneering approach to development' in bringing the government and development partners together under one coherent programme for countrywide improvement in primary education.

ADB officials said Bangladesh has a strong commitment to education and has one of the largest primary education systems in the world, but the quality of education has stagnated due to lower student-teacher ratio and contact hours.

The gross enrolment ratio is currently 98 percent in primary education and the student-teacher ratio about 55:1. For government schools, the ratio is 67:1.

A double-shift system reduces the contact hours between students and teachers to 30 percent below the international average. Dropout rates are high partly due to high poverty level and little awareness about the need for education.

Up to three-quarters of the PEDP II expenditure are expected to target the poor. During the programme, enrolment of poor children is expected to increase by 3.2 million to 11.7 million.

Under the programme, over 17 million students in 78,000 primary schools are expected to benefit from the in-service training of more than 320,000 teachers.

The PEDP II has four main components -- capacity building, systematic reforms by increasing authority and accountability at all levels, good governance and addressing fiscal and supervision irregularities.

For school and classroom quality improvement, the programme aims to ensure that schools meet quality criteria, are not overcrowded and have qualified teachers.

Ensuring suitable staff-student ratios, regular attendance by teachers, sufficient contact hours between teachers and students and supply of adequate education materials are also top on agenda.

Additional classrooms would be built with the funds and equipment provided to the existing schools.

The ADB's loan covers 5.5 per cent of the programme costs while the government will contribute $1.161 billion or 64 per cent. The government funds will be used for stipend for the poor students.

The UK's Department for International Development will provide grants worth $150 million, the European Commission $100 million, the Netherlands $50 million, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation $40 million, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency $29 million and the Canadian International Development Agency $20 million for the programme.

Other contributors to the PEDP II include the International Development Association, $150 million, the United Nation's Children Fund in partnership with the Australian Agency for International Cooperation, $12 million, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, $3 million.