LUSAKA, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government said that a World Bank-funded project aimed at building 82 secondary schools is expected to be completed by the end of this month, a senior official said on Monday.

Minister of General Education David Mabumba said phase one of the 60 million U.S. dollar Zambia Education Enhancement Project will be completed at the end of December with the construction of 82 secondary schools across the country.

In remarks delivered when he inspected construction of some schools in Luapula Province, the minister said the project will help increase access to secondary education in the country, according to the state-run Zambia News and Information Service.

Mabumba said the government is targeting to enroll pupils in the new secondary schools by next year and that the project targets communities that have never had a secondary school before.

The schools will also have transport facilities to accord pupils from distant places an opportunity to acquire education, he added.

"Once this project is completed, issues of learners dropping out of school due to long distances will be a thing of the past," the minister was quoted as saying.

Apart from the construction of secondary schools, the project also involves efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning in mathematics and science.