Announcement of Seven Million Six Hundred Thousand US Dollars Loan for Education in Colombia on July 31, 1968

•• I 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON DEVELOPMEl\JT D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Bank Press. Release No. 68/39 Subject: $7.6 million loan for July 31, 1968 education in Colombia A World Bank loan of $7.6 million will finance half the cost of building and equipping 10 new comprehensive secondary schools in Colombia. In addition to pro- viding space for 48,000 students, operating on two shifts, the schools will make possible the introduction of a new concept of education into the Colombian school system. This will better prepare students to fill the country's needs for skilled manpower in business, industry and agriculture. The loan will be made to the Republic of Colombia for a term of 25 years, in- • cluding a 10-year grace period, with interest at 6-1/4% • Gross dome$tic product in Colombia has been growing at a rate of just under 5% per annum in the last few years and the rate is expected to ~each 6% this year. If this projected economic growth is to be maintained, an increasing and properly trained part of the economically active population must become engaged in manu- facturing, construction, transport and/ ,~imilar services. Also, low productivity in agriculture must be raised through an improvement of management and of the labor force~ In terms of educational investment priorities, the major gaps and resulting cons.traints to further economic development in industry and agriculture are in secondary education; only 15% of the relevant age group is enrolled. Colombia plans to increase secondary school enrollment from 404,000 in 1965 to 1,300,000 in 1975. The Government is now embarking on a program involving the construction of 19 comprehensive secondary schools; the Bank loan will assist the • first ·phase of this program, comprising; 10 of th~. 19 schools. In addition to acc01111fodating part of the projected increased enrollment, the schools will serve /more Bank No. 68/39 • Colombia-Education - 2 - • as a means of introducing a new educational concept in Colombia. Under the present system nea~ly all upper cycle secondary education is preparati9n for university entrance. The system will now be restructured to include technical options, such as industrial, agricultural· and conmercial subjects. The schools will thus pre- pare students for employment and for further technical training and at the same time offer sufficient academic education to enable students to proceed to post-- secondary institutions or universities. All the project schools will offer a 6-year course and will be co-educational. They will be located in departmental. capitals and enrollments will vary from about 3,000 to 6,000 on a two-shift basis. These large enrollments will permit signifi- cant economies not only in physical construction but also in administration and staffing. In the first two grades, the curriculum will be common and will include practical subjects, but there will be an increasing number of options in the higher grades, such as humanities, science, mechanical and electrical cours,es, industrial chemistry, construction, agriculture, secretarial courses, accounting or social services. The physical facilities and equipment of the schools will support the practical subjects contained in the curricula. There will be separate laboratories • for each science subject, language laboratories, offi~e practice rooms and work- shops for engineering ,subjects. Provision wi,Ji.. be made for future use of instruc- tional television. The Government is establishing a special unit within an agency of the Ministry of Education to execute the project. The unit will be in charge of constructing the schools and will be responsible for the curriculum revision and for the co- ordination of teacher training. The Ministry will employ consultants to design the schools and supervise construction. The total cost of the pt·oject is estimated. at the equivalent of $15.2 million, with a foreign. exchange component of $5.4 milli1Jn. The Bank loan will cover the foreign exchange requirements and part of the l~cal currency costs. The remainder will be met by the Government. International competitive bidding will be employed for construction of the schools and for the supply of furniture and equipment. Scbool construction should be finished by the end of 1971. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) assisted the Government in the identification and preparation of the project under the Bank/Unesco Cooperative Program. Specialist teams from the United States Agency for International Development also assisted in the preparation of 'the project and are providing considerable technical assistance in the training of personnel for the schools. - 0 - •