Announcement of Four Million Nine Hundred Thousand US Dollars Loan for Education in El Salvador on June 4, 1969

FOR IMM·EDIATE RELEASE. K FOR E ELO MENT 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Bank Press Release No. 69/36 Subject: $4.9 million loan for educa- June 4, 1969 tion in El Salvador A World Bank loan, equivalent to $4.9 million, announced today, will help finance expansion and improvement of the secondary education system in El Salvador. The project will provide 15,500 additional student places and emphasis will be on industrial, technical, agricultural and connnercial training. This will alleviate El Salvador's shortage of skilled manpower which is hampering further economic growth. The loan will be made to the Government of El Salvador fo1r a terhl of 30 years, • including a 10-year grace period, with interest at 6-1/2% • El Salvador, with a population of some 3.3 million or 400 people per square mile, is one of the most densely populated countries in the Americas. In recent years the Government has taken vigorous steps to expand the educational system at all levels~ with financial and technical assistance from bi-lateral sources and international and private institutions. Between 1960 and 1967 enrollment in pri- mary schools increased from 300,000 to 412,000, a 37% incr~ase, and in secondary schools from 33,000 to 60,400, about 83%. This expansion, however, is considered moderate in relation to population growth which is about 3.7% annually. It is estimated that by 1975 enrollment in public and private secondary schools will have increased to 143,000 or 26% of the relevant age group. The sch()t)ls in the Bank project will provide 32% of the public secondary school graduates. The project consists of the construction ~nd equipping of 17 new secondary . , schools; the expansion and equipping of 10 existing se,e'On<lary schools ; the pro- vis ion of equipment for technical secondary institutes; expansion of the /more • Bank P.R. No. 69/36 - El Salvador-Education - 2 - National School of Agriculture at San Andres; and 90 fellowships for the training of teachers in agricultural, industrial and connnercial subjects, as well as for school administrators. The new schools will be located through the country con- sistent with the population distribution, will provide a more balanced curricula, and offer opportunities to young people who wish to continue their education after finishing primary school. The project is scheduled for completion by 1973 at a total estimated cost equivalent to $8.4 million. The Bank loan of $4.9 million will cover the foreign exchange requirements and the Government will finance the remaining costs. The project will be carried out by a special unit which has been set up in • the Ministry of Education and includes architects, engineers and other experts~ Specialists from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) helped the Government in identifying and preparing the project and specialists from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United· Nations (FAO) participated in its appraisal under the FAO and Unesco/Bank Co- operative Programs. - 0 - •