§ 6. Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution his Department is making to the development of education in Bangladesh. [157876]
Mr. Gareth ThomasMy right hon. Friend approved a grant of £100 million over six years as the UK contribution to a sector-wide programme for primary education in Bangladesh which I was able to announce during my visit to Bangladesh in January. This is the largest single grant that DFID has ever made to Bangladesh. Its purpose is to help increase access to education for 2 to 3 million extra children. In addition. DFID also supports two other Government programmes and a number of education programmes run by NGOs aimed specifically at providing education to hard to reach children who would otherwise miss out, for example working children.