Announcement of Four Million US Dollars Education Loan to Nicaragua on February 28, 1968

• 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Bank Press Release No. 68/10 Subject: $4 million education rebru~~Y 28, 1968 loan t~ Nicaragua I) A World Bank loan of $4 million for an education project alU'lounced today should contribute to a much needed increase in the flow c,f qualified manpower into Nicaragua's public service and int., industry and comme1·ce. Manpower studies have shown that by the mid-seventies Nicaragua will need over 20,000 qualified middle-level personnel to fill such positinns as primary s~'hool teachers, acc.guntants, secretaries, sales people and technicians. The Hfillk project forms part of the Government's program to ~xpand and impr<,ve secondary education in order to meet these needs. There will also be a com- • paratively large increase in the number of secondary school graduates quali- fied for entry into ;university, thus increasing the supply nf university- trained personnel for high-level positions. The project consists ,,of the construction or expansion and equipping of 21 p,1blic schools for ger.eral secondary education and the training of primary school teachers. The schools will provide 11,540 student places; 8,100 are new ones and 3,440 will replace those in existing unsuitable buildings. This will result in an incre~se of 50% in the country's present enrollment of students in secondary schools. O:f' ;equal importance will be improvements ip, the quality atidr~:ype of education made possible by the provision of well-equipped physi~al facilities and better qualified teachers. The project is scheduled for completion in four years at a total_cost equiva- • lent to $8 million. The Bank loan will cover half the '.-'cost and the remainder will / more  - 2 - be financed by the Government which will also provide funds for the,coperation of the schools. The Bank loan to the Government will be for a term of 25 years,, including a lO•year grace period, and bear interest at 6\1.. • The lack of sufficiently ~ducated and qualified manpower is one of the main obstacles to Nicaragua's further economic growth. The agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors all report serious deficiencies in the supply of trained manpower, and a much needed improvement of p·roductivity cannot be obtiiined with- out a substantial upgrading of the labor force. In a number of sectors the pro- ductivity of high·l~vcl personnel is adversely affected by the lack of medium- level manpower. Manpower requirements will not be met by a pureiy quan~i~aciv~ increase in secondary school enrollment but requires also a simultaneous improve-· ment in quality. Some 27,100 pupHs, or 15% of the 13-17 age group, are now enrolled in Nicaragua's secondary schools, both public and private. Secondary education comprises five grades, three wi~h a core curriculum common to all and two years. dire~ted toward general; commercial and agricultural studies and primary school teacher training. Better school buildings with good equipment and supplies, for which the Bank loan will be used, will provide facilities for a more skilled teaching force and improve the environment for learning. Under the project being assisted by the Bank loan, nine new general secondary ~ Bchools will be built and seven will be expanded. These, togeth~:r with two more /pecondary schools, will be furnished and equipped. The schools w·:111 be located 'according to the geogJ';.'aphic distribution of the population: four of them will be in Managua, the capital, and the remainder will be in the mc,st important towns of Nicaragua. The 18 general secondary schools will have labo1~atori(!S and special rooms for industrial arts, office training and hom~, economic~s. These well-equipped phy'sical facil:f.ties will permit the application of ·'revi~ed C\urricula which include subjects that have not been taught heretofore and are directly related to the re- quirements of the labor market. A sufficient number of qualified teachers for the schools is assured by recent measures taken by the Schools of Education of the National and Central American Universities. In addition, two new primary teacher training schools will be built and equipped and a third will be expanded and equipped. These three schools will permit reorganization of the training t,f primary scho(')l teac~hers and the con- centration of such training in four schools instead of 14 aE; at present. The training of primary school teachers will be .extended from t~io to three years and the new curricula will follow modern educational practices. Additional quali- fied teachers are needed both·t~ replace the many unqualified teachers and to meet the larger demand resulting from the expected expansion of primary schools .• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UnescQ) assisted the Government in the preparation of the project~ The ~nesco missions were orgai:1ized within the frame~ark of the cooperative program bet~!en Unesco and •. the World Bank, which was initiated in 1964. '·" - 0 -