Australia supports access to better education

MANILA, Philippines – Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith, schools division superintendent-DepED General Santos City division Estrella Lariosa and school principal Harry Villanueva lead the inauguration of a two-classroom school building in the Bawing Elementary School in General Santos City. These classrooms were built with Australian government assistance through AusAID amounting to P1.2 million, under the World Bank-managed Support to Philippine Basic Education Reforms (SPHERE) trust fund. SPHERE, a P1.4-billion partnership of AusAID and the World Bank, supports initiaitives in over 200 disadvantaged elementary schools in southern Philippines.