Announcement of Education and Training in Tunisia Supported by Twenty-Seven Million Dollars World Bank Loan on December 27, 1982

' , FOR IMM,EDIATE RELEASE 4 eWorldBank 1818 H Street, NW., Washington, D,C 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE 83/37 Contact: Ciro Gamarra December 27, 1982 (202) 4 77-8035 EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN TUNISIA SUPPORTED BY $27 MILLION WORLD BANK LOAN A Fifth Education Project in Tunisia for education and training development will use a $27 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). At present, the country's primary schools have high drop-out and repeater rates, mainly due to inadequate teacher training. Under the $40.7 million project, the quality of primary teacher training will be improved by the Ministry of Education (MOE). Four primary teacher training colleges will be constructed, equipped, and furnished, two in the Northwest Region (Jendouba and Mateur), and two in the Central West Region (Kasserine and Sidi Bouzid). The serious unemployment problem in Tunisia is in part due to the inefficiency of the education system, particularly in the agricultural sector. · • Improving the agricultural education and training system to meet the demands of the growing agricultural sector is a priority under the government's Sixth Plan. The IBRD loan will assist the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) in the restructuring and upgrading of its agricultural education and training system at all levels. Equipment, furniture, and expert services for planning studies will be provided for the Bureau of Agricultural Education Studies and Planning. The bureau is a division of MOA, recently established to strengthen the link between research! education, extension, and skill training in the agricultural sector. The technical assistance program under the project will provide a total of 109 months of consulting services and 90 months of fellowships to the MOA. The loan will also finance studies to assess the country's need for middle and higher level technicians in the industrial, commercial, and services sectors, as well as the design of appropriate strategies for post-secondary training of technicians in these schools. Bank Group lending to Tunisia since 1962 amounts to $1,126.3 million under 53 loans and 11 credits. Bank Group lending to the country has supported the development of primary and secondary education and training through two credits and two loans. The on-going Fourth Education Project for $26 million, devoted to skilled worker training and apprenticeship, is financing the con- struction and/or equipping of vocational training centers and apprentice centers. • The IBRD loan is for 17 years including four years of grace at a variable interest rate linked to borrowing costs. The loan also carries an annual conunitment charge of 0.75% on undisbursed balances and. a front-end fee of 1.5% on the amount of the loan. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.