ADB loan of $100m for Kerala’s skill acquisition programme

29/11/2014 07:44 AST

India has signed a $100 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support Kerala’s initiative to increase the employability of higher secondary and undergraduate students, the Finance Ministry announced on Friday.

Kerala’s Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) aims to provide opportunities for students to improve their English fluency and IT skills besides learning market relevant, in-demand vocational skills outside regular school hours.

An official statement said the agreement was signed here on Thursday by Tarun Bajaj, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, on behalf of the Union Government, S. M. Teresa Kho, Country Director on behalf of the ADB and Dr. M.T. Reju, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), ASAP, Higher Education Department, on behalf of the Government of Kerala.

Nearly 2,35,000 needy students in Kerala will be benefited under the programme during 2014-2018.

This $100 million loan for supporting ASAP is the first Results Based Lending (RBL) facility from ADB in India.

Key outputs of market-relevant vocational training introduced in post-basic education; enhanced access to quality vocational training; increased awareness and facilitation of private sector participation as also improved programme management and monitoring and evaluation would be considered for disbursement of due amounts, the Ministry said.

Speaking on the occasion, Tarun Bajaj said that the RBL modality, the first time being used in India, will reinforce country systems, incentivize results, and reduce transaction costs. This loan provides a replicable model for other States that are facing the problems of low youth employability and high unemployment.

Teresa Kho said that by offering 180 hours of foundation training in communication English and basic IT, and 120-520 hours of vocational training to high school and undergraduate students, after class and during vacations, ASAP will make them “market ready” by the time they graduate. A capacity building technical assistance (TA) of $1.5 million, financed by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), was also signed on this occasion.

The ASAP Secretariat has been engaging closely with industry associations and sector skills councils in identifying market-relevant courses, designing the curriculum and training methods, identifying internship, and placement opportunities.

Gulf Daily News