Announcement of Papa New Guinea to Improve and Expand Secondary Education on December 9, 1992

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. * Telephone: (202) 477-1234 IBRD News Release No. 93/30Asia Contact: Erin Burns (202)458-2210 External Affairs - EAPVP PAPUA NEW GUINEA TO IMPROVE AND EXPAND SECONDARY EDUCATION Washington, D.C., December 9, 1992 --- The Government of Papua New Guinea is focussing on education as a means to development, and is seeking to improve and further expand its education sector. A World Bank loan of $35 million approved yesterday will help finance priority investments in upper secondary education, including the expansion of female enrollment. The expansion of modern education in Papua New Guinea (PNG) began about three decades ago as the country approached independence. Since then, the Government has devoted between 15 and 20 percent of its recurrent budget to education expenditures. Progress has been made in expanding education at the primary and secondary levels, however a national literacy rate of about 45 percent reflects a low level of education in the country. In addition, a number of problems plague the education sector, including poor quality, high dropout rates and enrollment disparities. The National Department of Education (NDOE) has prepared an education program that focusses on issues of access, relevance and quality improvement and identifies specific investments needed in the sector. The $35 million World Bank loan will help fund a project which includes seven components defined by NDOE as the highest priorities in the sector. The project is designed to increase access to upper secondary education in grades 11 and 12; improve educational quality by expanding the supply of textbooks, improving school libraries and strengthening school inspection and guidance; and strengthen institutional management through regional planning and management advisors. A number of policy studies will also be carried out. The project will increase the number of secondary school (grade 12) graduates and will have particular impact on female enrollment. Additional enrollment of women is expected to increase the female enrollment ratio by 88 percent over the 1990 level. The overall increase in graduates will in turn increase the number of qualified entrants to higher education, thus helping to alleviate a human resource constraint in the economy. This is the Bank's fifth lending operation in the education sector in PNG. The first four operations received Bank financing totalling $92.1 million and supported primary and secondary education development and training for middle and higher level personnel in certain sectors. The total cost of the project is $51.3 million. The Government of PNG is providing $16.3 million in project financing. The Bank loan is repayable in 20 years, including five years of grace, at the Bank's standard variable interest rate, currently 7.60 percent. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalent.