New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS): Indian government, Government of Nagaland and the World Bank on Tuesday signed a $68 million project to enhance the governance of schools across Nagaland as well as to improve teaching practices and learning environments in select schools.

The "Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project" will improve classroom instruction; create opportunities for the professional development of teachers; and build technology systems to provide students and teachers with more access to blended and online learning as well as allow better monitoring of policies and programs, a Finance Ministry statement said.

Such an integrated approach will complement conventional delivery models and help mitigate the challenges posed by Covid-19.

About 150,000 students and 20,000 teachers in the government education system in Nagaland will benefit from the statewide reforms in schools.

C.S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, said that the education project in Nagaland will address the critical gaps faced by students and teachers and play an important role in the development of the state.

Nagaland currently faces challenges of weak school infrastructure, lack of opportunities for the professional development of teachers and limited capacity on the part of communities to partner effectively with the school system. The Covid-19 pandemic has further accentuated these challenges and created additional stress and disruptions to the state's school education system.

Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director in India said that even as the number of children attending school in India has increased over the last few years, there is a growing need to significantly improve learning outcomes to meet the demands of the labour market and fuel future growth. This project is designed to support the Government of Nagaland's ongoing efforts to improve and develop a more resilient education system in the state.