The World Bank's board of executive directors Tuesday approved a US$100 million education credit for Iraq, the first loan to the country in over 30 years by the international organization.

The loan, named Third Emergency Education Project, "will help the Government of Iraq alleviate school overcrowding and lay the groundwork for educational reform," the bank said in a statement.

It added that Iraq's educational system has deteriorated over the last 20 years, resulting in poor learning conditions and declining school enrollment.

The educational system faces challenges caused by massive backlogs in school construction and maintenance, human resource development, and policy and system development, it said.

"School overcrowding is a main contributor to low school enrollment rates," said Peter Buckland, the project's team leader. "There are twice as many teachers as classrooms and nearly 20 percent of primary and secondary schools operate in double or even triple shifts."

The loan will finance the construction and furnishing of about 82 new primary and secondary schools, directly benefiting about 57,000 students, according to the statement.

The loan will be provided by the International Development Association, an arm of the World Bank that helps needy countries. The credit has 35 years maturity including a 10-year grace period.

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2005)