Monday, July 22, 2019

Japan extends grant aid for SSDP

Ambassador of Japan to Nepal Masamichi Saigo and finance secretary Rajan Khanal today signed, and exchanged three sets of Notes, on behalf of their respective governments to help nepali education sector.
These Notes are for extending Japan’s Grant Assistance up to 250 million Japanese Yen, equivalent to Rs 254.7 million, and 378 million Japanese Yen, equivalent to Rs 385.2 million for the implementation of JDS Phase I and Phase II respectively, according to a press note issued by the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu. “The third note relates to assistance of 300 million Japanese Yen, equivalent to Rs 305.7 million, for the implementation of the School Sector Development Program (SSDP).”
Likewise, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA Nepal) chief representative Yumiko Asakuma and joint secretary of the International Economic Cooperation and Coordination Division (IECCD) under the Finance Ministry Shree krishna Nepal have also signed and exchanged a grant agreement for the implementation of SSDP, the press note reads.
The JDS Project Grant is designed to support human resource development of friendly nations through accepting highly capable, energetic, and young government officials into Japanese universities and strengthening the partnership between recipient countries and Japan by utilising human relation chains to address future global needs. Phase I of JDS is in the final completion stage under which 60 Nepali government officers have already been dispatched while 20 are in the process of pursing their studies in Japanese universities. In the meantime, Phase II of JDS is in the implementation process with the addition of an infrastructure development component and doctoral degree programme as per the request of Nepal.
Japan has also been assisting in the implementation of the School Sector Development Programme (SSDP) from 2016.
Saigo, on the signing occasion, said that education is an investment in human capital and the foundation for a nation’s sustainable social and economic development. He also stressed that through education the cycle of poverty could be eradicated in the long term. “SSDP is considered as an important vessel to enable Nepal to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to become a middle-income country by 2030.”
The envoy also hoped that the SSDP would improve the quality of education, school management and institutional capacity and the access to education for children in marginalised communities, based on SDGs policy ‘No one left behind’.

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