The funds will support the country’s efforts to modernise and strengthen education system in Sri Lanka, including diversifying the curriculum, the Washington-based organisation said.

Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough, World Bank country director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, said: “Sri Lanka has made impressive progress in expanding access to education. However, to reach the status of an upper middle-income country, it needs to further improve the overall learning outcomes.

“Sri Lanka’s education policymakers recognise that a high-quality general education system will enable students to meet the demands of 21st century jobs.”

The project will put greater emphasis on subjects that are key for economic development, such as English and mathematics, the bank said.

It will also broaden the subjects that students can take to include arts, management, science, technology and vocational streams.

The World Bank country director and Sri Lanka’s finance minister signed the General Education Modernisation Project earlier this week in Colombo.