Announcement of Three Million Three Hundred Thousand Dollars Credit for an Education Project in Somalia on May 24, 1971

I • INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 IDA Press Release No. 71/20 Subject: $3.3 million credit for an May 24, 1971 education project in Somalia The International Development Ar,sociation (IDA), an affiliate of the World Bank, today announced a credit equivalent to $3.3 million to help improve Somalia's education system. Since independence in 1960, Somalia has suffered a persistent education deficiency and only about 7% of the population of school age could find places in school and very few children go beyond elementary school. There is a shortage of qualified teachers and, until recently, the curriculum • was not well suited to the country's requirements • The project will cost approximately $3. 7 million and is scheduled for completion in 1975. It includes the construction and equipping of an exten- sion to the National Teacher Education Centre, which will provide Somalia with its only institution for training elementary and intermediate school teachers. To permit a modest expansion in enrollments and the spread of a new diversified and practical curriculum, the project includes the construction and equipping of one new secondary school, science laboratories, workshops and libraries for 10 secondary schools, extensions to a technical school at Mogadiscio and a technical and commercial school at Hargeisa, and the pro- vision and equipping of eight mobile units for farmer training. Technical assistance is also provided for project implementation, teacher training and • curriculum developmente /more IDA P.R. No. 71/20 - Somalia - education - 2 - The project was identified and prepared with Unesco assistance and was appraised by an IDA/FAD mission in September 1970. The IDA credit ·will • finance 90% of the total project cost, covering the estimated foreign exchange cost, about $2.6 million, and approximately $700,000 of local expenditures. The Government will provide the balance of the financing. The borrower is the Somali Democratic Republic and the IDA credit is for a period of 50 years, including a IO-year period of grace. It is interest free, but carries a 3/4 of 1% service charge to cover IDA's administrative expenses. The Ministry of Education (Mogadiscio, Somalia) is responsible for implementing the project. - 0 - • •