Announcement of Education Project in Niger to Receive IDA Assistance on May 28, 1981

. FOR IMMEDIATE RE LEAS~ ., .world Bank ·1 s-1 s H Street. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. 0 Telephone: (202) 477-1234 I DA NEWS RELEASE NO. 81 /9 l May 28, 1981 EDUCATION PROJECT IN NIG~R TO RECEIVE IDA ASSISTANCE The International Development Association (IDA) has approved a credit of SOR 17.3 million ($21.5 million) to Niger to support an education project. IDA is the World Bank's affi Ii ate for concessionary lending. The $27 mill ion project includes technical assistance and fellowships to train Nigerien personnel in education planning and project preparation; technical assistance to the Ministry of Civil Service and Labor to establish a program for upgrading the skills of middle-and upper-level civil servants; and expansion of facilities for training of agricultural and animal-husbandry technicians. Niger faces a shortage of managerial and technical personnel at all levels. This shortage exists in the civi 1 service and other government services, but is particularly acute in field and extension work in agriculture and animal husbandry. • Under the project, the existing facilities of the Rural Development Training Institute in Niamey wil 1 be improved and expanded, providing places for 160 additional students. Training programs and housing for the institute's teachers, as well as tools, supplies, and additional livestock for its 45-hectare teaching farm will be supplied. A new animal production training school, to be located in Kolo, about 25 kilometers east of Niamey, will be built to accommodate 204 boarding students. The four-year technical training course wi 11 include instruction in animal husbandry, pasture management, rural building techniques, vehicle and cold storage operation, solar energy applications, and extension work. The new school will train 50 extension agents and 20 technicians annually. The efforts to upgrade the skills of civi 1 servants are expected to improve the quality of public service and the efficiency with which the government allocates funds and manages projects. The United Nations Development Programme is providing co-financing of $2. 5 mi 11 ion. The IDA credit is on standard IDA terms of 50 years, including 10 years of grace, and is interest-free, except for a service charge of 3/4 of 1% per annum to cover IDA's administrative costs. The credit wi 11 -be comm~tted when funds are available. • NOTE: IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a 11 basket 11 of currencies. The U.S. dollar equiv- alent of th~ SOR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of negotiation of the credit. FORM NO. 1121 (5-76) T ECH N I CA L DAT A • PROJECT: Education COUNTRY: Niger TOTAL COST: $27 million I DA FINANCING: SOR 17.3 million ($21.5 million), standard IDA terms OTHER FINANCING: United Nations Development Programme, $2.5 mill ion Government of Niger, $3 mill ion IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATIONS: Ministere de l 1 Education Nationale, Niamey, Niger Ministere de la Fonction Publ ique, Niamey, Niger Ministere du Developpement Rural, Niamey, Niger PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project includes: (a) technical assistance and fellow- ships to assist in educational planning and project preparation; (b) technical assistance to the Ministry of Civil Service and Labor to establish a training directorate, review the needs for upgrading, and formulate pilot upgrading programs for public administration; (c) the final phase of expansion and up g rad i ng of a n a g r i cu l tu r a 1 tech n i c i an t r a i n i ng i ns t i tu t e a ·t Ko l o ; ( d )' the de ve 1op - • ment of a new animal production training school at Kolo; and (e) technical assistance and operating costs for project management. PROCUREMENT: Civil works valued at $18.l mill ion and furniture and equipment valued at $2.6 mi 11 ion will be procured on the basis of international competitive bidding in accordance with IDA 1 s guide] ines. Items of furniture and equipment, grouped in packages of $50,000 or less, will be procured in accordance with local competitive bidding procedures acceptable to IDA; or, for items below $10,000~ by inviting quotati6ns from at least three suppliers. CONSULTANTS: The project will need about 31-1/2 man-years of technical ~ssistance and 28 man-years of fellowships. ECONOMIC RATE OF RETURN: ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: n.a. 1988 - 0 - •