The world's leading lending institution World Bank (WB) announced to provide US$44 million to Afghanistan for improving education in the war-torn country, a joint statement of Afghan Finance Ministry and WB received on Wednesday said.

"The government of Afghanistan and the World Bank on behalf of the 30 donors of Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund signed two grant agreements worth US$44 million to expand the ongoing Educational Quality Improvement Program and to establish the National Institute of Management and Administration," the statement added.

Afghan Minister for Finance Omar Zakhilwal and WB country director for Afghanistan Nick Krafft inked the agreements.

Speaking on the occasion, the WB country director noted that "the World Bank has supported the education sector since 2002 and given the challenges, the results have been impressive."

Out of 6.2 million students going to school in Afghanistan, 35.5 percent of them are girls.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2009)