The Norwegian government and the UN children agency have signed an agreement in Juba for provision of more than $5 million to support basic education in South Sudan.

Under the agreement, Norway will provide 5.8 million US dollars to UNICEF to support basic education for children and youth in the country, including some areas most affected by the conflict.

According to a joint statement, UNICEF will use the money in implementing the two-year program, Back-to-Learning Initiative, to benefit 40,000 children and adolescents aged 3 to 18.

UNICEF will also establish 100 temporary learning spaces, 50 early childhood development centers, and other learning spaces to increase access to quality education.

The agency and the government earlier this year launched the ‘Back to Learning’ Initiative, which aims at getting 400,000 children back to school and learning by the end of 2015.