The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have pledged support for the Education For All (EFA) Pool Fund in Nepal from next year, The Himalayan Times reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, the recent commitment by the two donors in the core funding group has relieved the government which was already worried over how to bridge a shortage of fund the EFA will face at the end of its five-year program that began in 2004.

The EFA program, which would cost 814 million U.S. dollars, is expected to fall short by 250 million dollars at the end of its first five-year term.

At present there is a pool fund of 150 million dollars while the government made plan to raise 174 million dollars including the fund it expected to receive fund from the European Commission, which later opted out of it.

An official at the Ministry of Education and Sports said on condition of anonymity that the ADB has expressed commitment to provide 30 million dollars for the remaining term of the EFA and that the purse of the fund to be provided by the UNICEF is yet to be discussed, but it is a huge relief for the government.

Source: Xinhua