An estimated 13 million students from class 6 to 12 will benefit from the organisation’s Transforming Secondary Education for Results programme, the World Bank said in a statement.

The programme aims to improve the quality of teaching and learning, expand access and retention of students, particularly girls and children from poor households.

The programme modernises school curriculums and will help to ensure the development, management and accountability of teachers. It will also include learning assessments and reform examinations.

The World Bank began supporting secondary education in 1993 through innovation and a stipend project that dramatically increased the enrolment of girls.

“Today, Bangladesh is among a few low and low middle-income countries to achieve gender parity in secondary education,” said World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal Qimao Fan.

“The next challenge is to improve quality of education and to ensure that poor children, both boys and girls, complete grade 12.”

According to the World Bank, Bangladesh’s secondary education system has to tackle a number of pressing issues. Less than 70 percent of primary school students continue to secondary education, while below 60 percent pass class 10.

Many students do not reach the necessary standards in key subjects, such as mathematics, Bangla and English, the World Bank said. Results from 2015 show nearly half of class 8 students did poorly in mathematics.

“The current curriculum does not adequately focus on building problem solving skills,” the World Bank said. “Compared to regional and international standards, the country [Bangladesh] has a low level of public investment in education.”

The programme put particular focus on increasing school completion rates for girls and poor children through stipends and grants.

A pilot programme will be attempted to motivate adolescent girls to complete their schooling. Financial incentives will be provided for poor female students from classes 9-12. The programme will also build separate toilets for girl students.

It will also develop the skills of teachers.

“The rural schools often suffer from a shortage of qualified teachers, particularly in English, Mathematics, and Science subjects,” said Saurav Dev Bhatta, World Bank co-team leader for the project. “The program will help attract, develop, and retain qualified teachers. It will recruit and provide pre-deployment training to the new teachers.”

An accountability system for teachers and school management committees will also be supported through the programme. Technical assistance will also be provided.

The World Bank credit will be provided by the International Development Association. The credits are interest-free, repayable in 38 years (with a six-year grace period) and carry a service charge of 0.75 percent.