The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on February 2 priced its first education bond to finance a pool of projects related to the sector, including technical and vocational training, in Asia-Pacific. Arranged by Credit Agricole CIB, the 10-year bond amounting to A$75 million (US$57 million) was purchased entirely by Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company of Japan.

Commenting on the issuance, ADB treasurer Pierre Van Peteghem says the education bond will help support, among others, ADB’s assistance to those among its developing member-countries whose education systems have been severely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

An estimated 1.7 billion students worldwide have been affected by school closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. ADB is strengthening its effort to expand access to opportunities for high-quality education, including through greater use of distance and online learning; and wider use of digital technologies for scaling equitable learning, training, and teaching with partnerships for expanding access to affordable and reliable internet connectivity.

In January, ADB published “Covid-19 and Education in Asia and the Pacific”, which calls for developing countries to identify critical policy reforms, such as revamping teacher professional development, and concrete actions to improve the quality, relevance and inclusion of education systems over the long term.

Framed as the three Rs – response, recovery and rejuvenation – the note outlines specific responses from the kindergarten level to higher education (K-12), and for technical and vocational education and training. In response to demand from its member countries following Covid-19 and other emerging requirements, ADB’s annual commitment to education is expected to double from US$1 billion in 2020 to about US$2 billion during 2021-2023. ADB has ongoing investments of over US$6 billion in education.