BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Oct 22, CMC – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved a US$56.2 million loan to Antigua and Barbuda to upgrade school infrastructure, strengthen teacher training and improve the quality and accessibility of education.
The Education Enhancement and Quality Improvement Project (E-EQUIP), approved at the bank’s 315th Board meeting in Barbados, is expected to benefit more than 10,000 students, including 2,400 young people through skills development for work and life.
The project will rehabilitate and expand four schools – Sir Novelle Richards Academy, Antigua Girls’ High School, Ottos Comprehensive School and Golden Grove Primary School – with upgraded facilities designed to be energy-efficient, accessible to persons with disabilities and resilient to hurricanes and flooding. The schools will also be available as community shelters during emergencies.
“Every child deserves a safe, modern school where they can learn and thrive,” said CDB Director of Projects L. O’Reilly Lewis.
“Through E-EQUIP, CDB is helping Antigua and Barbuda build resilient classrooms, empower its teachers and open doors to opportunity, so today’s students become tomorrow’s leaders and innovators,” he added.
The initiative will also introduce the CDB’s Improving Mathematics Proficiency Across Caribbean Countries (IMPACT) programme in primary and secondary schools, while strengthening the instructional and leadership skills of more than 750 teachers, school leaders and Ministry of Education staff.
Other components include expanded support for students with special educational needs, competitive grants to help schools address their improvement priorities and modernisation of the Education Act of 2008.
The project will also fund the preparation of designs to convert two secondary schools into Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Centres of Excellence.
The CDB said the initiative builds on Antigua and Barbuda’s achievement of universal access to basic education and is intended to improve the education system’s quality, equity, relevance and resilience.
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda will contribute US$23.565 million towards the project, bringing the total cost to approximately US$79.8 million.
The Ministry of Education is expected to implement E-EQUIP from 2027 to 2031.
The bank said the project forms part of its wider commitment to social development across its borrowing member countries.
CMC/ed/2026