MANAGUA, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Nicaragua and the European Union (EU) signed an agreement here on Tuesday for the EU to provide aid to bolster Nicaragua's education.

Under the agreement, the EU will grant 32 million euros (about 40 million U.S. dollars) to fund a countrywide educational program aimed at improving infrastructure, enrolment and quality of teaching staff.

The fund will be provided in the next five years, Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry said.

"The goal of this program is to improve the coverage ... of elementary education, to improve the teachers' efficiency and to strengthen the education system's management," said Nicaraguan Education Minister Miriam Raudez.

The program, with a total budget of 48 million euros (about 60 million dollars), will be implemented together with a 25-million-dollar complementary loan from the World Bank, the ministry said.