Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen visted a Control and Command Center in Gandhinagar, India on July 16, where she emphasized the power of education supported by the World Bank. According to a release by the World Bank, this visit plays off the $500 million program focused on enhancing education in Gujarat.
"Education is a powerful driver of development and one of the most effective investments for unlocking economic growth, reducing poverty, and promoting social inclusion," Yellen said.
During her visit she stressed the significance of education as being a main aspect leading to economic progress. She discussed how education has the ability to give people the right skills needed for employment, and also enable them to have stable income. Yellen also said spoke about education and improving health outcomes, as well as its role on national economic growth, promoting social cohesion and being innovative.
According to a release by the World Bank on May 24, the Control and Command Center is funded by World Bank and has technology used to address learning setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The release stated that on that day the Government of India, Gujarat and the World Bank collaborated to launch the $500million initiative known as Outcomes for Accelerated Learning Program (GOAL). The program is designed to help 11 million students aged six to 17 in more than 54,000 schools. It will also help 400,000 teachers.
Yellen felt the program was a success and that it had inspired government to replicate achievements in other states.
"This is why I believe it is absolutely critical that we build on success stories like this by expanding the capacity and balance sheet of the Multilateral Development Banks, or MDBs."
Yellen also mentioned her all to action to the MDBs in October, asking them to increase capacity and resources.
"We believe that the MDBs as a system could unlock $200 billion over the next decade," Yellen said.