DUSHANBE, January 7, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- One million copies of different textbooks for primary schools are expected to have been published in Tajikistan this year as part of the Tajikistan Education Modernization Project, according to the education projects management unit.

A source at the education projects management unit said that eight new textbooks for first- and fourth-grade pupils would be prepared in accordance with modern education programs and they would meet international requirements.

We will recall the Tajikistan Education Modernization Project is sponsored by the World Bank that has provided $20 million for it; out of the total project amount, $7 million is on a grant basis; the remainder is provided as a credit from the International Development Association (IDA).  The project is scheduled to be finished on July 31, 2010.

The project aims to stop further decline in the Tajikistan education system by targeting improved enrollment and completion through grade five.  It will help set the stage for change at the national level, through improving textbooks and curriculum and reviewing financing options.  At the district and local level it will improve the school environment through infrastructure rehabilitation and the purchase of equipment and books.