ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has rated Pakistan’s Actions to Strengthen Performance for Inclusive and Responsive Education (ASPIRE) Programme as satisfactory in both overall progress and achievement of development objectives, with USD 199.28 million fully disbursed, and USD 33.44 million additional financing has been approved for the project ahead of its extended closing in 2028.
Financially, IDA credit to the tune of USD 199.28 million has been fully disbursed, while the additional financing under IDA credit, valued at USD 33.44 million, is in early disbursement stages. The original programme, approved in July 2020, has an extended closing date of June 30, 2028, under additional financing arrangements approved in June 2025.
According to the Implementation Status & Results Report (ISR), the programme, supported under IDA credits, aims to help the government respond to school disruptions caused by crises, expand educational access, enhance quality, and strengthen sector resilience, with a focus on lagging districts. The January 19–23 Implementation Support Mission (ISM) confirmed fiscal year 2026 implementation readiness. All provincial Annual Work Plans (AWPs) received respective Provincial Grant Coordination Committee (PGCC) approvals, enabling alignment of fiscal year 2026 federal grant releases with approved AWPs. Federal grants for Quarter 1 and 2 have been processed for Sindh and Balochistan in December 2026, based on the timely submission of these provincial AWPs. Quarter 1 and 2 grants for Punjab and KP are currently in process after their respective PGCC approvals on 13 February 2026.
The results for fiscal year 2026 are progressing, with the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT) targeting coordination, follow-up, and technical guidance for provinces.
For DLR 1.2 (well-being and nutrition policies/plans), procurement of a Technical Assistance (TA) firm has been initiated, provincial focal points have been nominated, and coordination across provinces has been established; delivery timelines remain aligned with Period 6.
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For DLR 14.1, the Out-of-School Children Challenge Fund (OOSC CF) design, the TA firm is onboard, inception completed, OOSC CF Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting convened, and diagnostics underway, with provincial consultations ongoing in February 2026.
Content review for primary-level Student-Level Outcomes (SLO) coverage has commenced; enrollment in multimodal programs is exceeding the target; procurement for TA firm to support costed Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) implementation plans has been initiated; accelerated learning program implementation is progressing; and procurement is also underway for the TA for provincial assessment framework reviews which will contribute to the achievement of DLR 12.4 (alignment of provincial assessment frameworks with the National Achievement Test), and TA for horizontal data integration which will support the achievement of DLR 11.3 (horizontal data integration and reporting through the National Open Data Portal).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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