Announcement of Morocco to Launch First Phase of an Education Reform Program on March 24, 1986

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND JOINT LIBRARY ' World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR ~:::CONSTRUCTION AND DEV'E!.OPMEJ:-!T BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 86/61 Contact: Fawzi Rihane March 24, 1986 (202) 477-5325 MOROCCO TO LAUNCH FIRST PHASE OF AN EDUCATION REFORM PROGRAM Morocco has begun the first phase of a reform program of its education sector, in support of efforts by the government to stabilize the economy. The World Bank is supporting this first phase with a loan of $150 million. The program aims to improve the equity of access to education and make it more consistent with the development needs of the country. It seeks also to limit overall costs and make education cheaper. The project will help improve the efficiency of the education system and enable the government to allocate a larger share of education resources to primary and lower secondary education. During the two to three-year life of the project, basic schooling facilities will be built and expanded. Educational materials will be provided, teachers will be trained, and fellowships will be offered. Studies will be carried out to improve teaching methods, school efficiency, maintenance, construction and private education. The total cost of the project is $1.83 billion. Besides the loan from the World Bank, additional funding will come from earlier World Bank loans to the Fourth and Fifth Education Projects ($14 million), and from the Government of Morocco, ($1.67 billion). The World Bank loan is for 20 years, including five years of grace, with a variable interest rate, currently 8.5 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on undisbursed balances. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.