EU allocates Tunisia 40 million euros for construction of 80 modern primary schools

The European Union Investment Bank, EIB, has provided Tunisia with 40 million euros to finance the construction of 80 modern primary schools and provision of transportation for the future facilities, “Webdo Tunis” reports.
Samir Saïed, Tunisia’s Minister of Economy and Planning and EIB’s Vice President Ricardo Mourinho Felix penned the agreement for the financing.
The project aims to improve learning and teaching conditions for 14,500 primary school pupils. Plus the construction, the financing will also enable the acquisition of school buses and the digitization of schools.
The financing is in line with the EU’s move to support the North African country’s efforts to combat school dropout, reduce repetition rates and ensure inclusive and equitable education.
The agreement comes amid ongoing crisis between the Tunisian government and the union of the primary school teachers. The latter are set to start a nation-wide protest from July 19 until July 26 to protest against the sacking of 350 teachers and the freezing of salaries of 17,000 other teachers.
The teachers were sacked and their salaries frozen after they withheld student grades to force the state raise their salaries.