The Zimbabwean government, the United Nations and other Western donors have launched an $85 million education fund aimed at improving education in the country's secondary schools.

Zimbabwe's educational system was once a model in the region, but schools have been brought to a near standstill by years of political and economic turmoil. The chaos has deprived millions of children of schooling.

UNICEF representative Peter Salama said Thursday that the $85 million fund aims to provide a textbook for every child in the country's 2,300 secondary schools.

The program also will target 200,000 absentee children from the most impoverished and vulnerable communities. Last year, UNICEF donated $50 million for primary school textbooks.