The European Union disbursed €19.4 million or nearly 1.9 billion soms for two budget support grants to the Kyrgyz government for the education sector and for digitalization. Delegation of the European Union to the Kyrgyz Republic reported.
In the education sector, the disbursement of €7.4 million is the last payment out of €32 million allocated for the budget support programme to help the Kyrgyz Government implement its Education Development Strategy during 2019-2021.
The results are an Education Management Information System, an improved educational quality and student assessment system, better gender equality and multilingual education, and strengthened public finance management. The Ministry of Finance has earmarked the grant funding to education quality improvements, textbooks and Internet access at all schools.
Regarding digitalization, €12 million has been paid to support the Kyrgyz Government’s Digital Transformation Roadmap during 2020-2023.
The programme supported the Innovation Centre of Digital Competences under the High Technology Park, the Sanarip Aimak/E-Aimak system in all regions to provide e-services to urban and rural populations, Personal Data Protection through a newly established Data Protection Agency and cybersecurity in the country.
The Ministry of Finance has earmarked the grant funding to software development and database maintenance in line ministries as well as fostering the digital economy across the country.
The budget support programme is complemented by training programmes on digitalization provided by EU member states to support the Kyrgyz national authorities in advancing e-governance and promoting transparency and accountability.
«Digital transformation and an education system accessible for all are key priorities for the cooperation between the government of Kyrgyzstan and the European Union and reflect the strong commitment of the EU to support the Kyrgyz development agenda,» Eduard Auer, the Ambassador of the EU to the Kyrgyz Republic, stated.
