Announcement of Eight Million Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars Lent for Education in Chile on March 20, 1970

// (r (.) I NTERNATI01'1A~L BANK F:OR . , RECONS'TRUCTIO AND DEVELOPMENT 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 iELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Bank Press Release No. 70/14 Subject: $8.S million lent for education March 20, 1970 in Chile Two loans totaling $8.S million for education projects in Chile were an- nounced today by ,the World Bank. A loan of $7 million is for a project directed toward meeting two priority needs in the Government's educational refnrm pro- gram: ,~, raising the quality of primary education through better teacher training, /ti\ -.. . ] ,r--- ,-, arid expanding and improving agricultural secondary education. The second loan, of $1.5 million, will help finance expansion of a program of vocational train- ing, already operating successfully. It will supply more skilled workers for agriculture, industry and fisheries -- a crucial need for Chile's economic • development. $7 million, 25-year, 10 years of grace, T;~ loan to The Republic of Chile For several years the Chilean Government has been carrying out a broadly based educational reform program aimed principally at moderrtizing methods and institutions to improve the quality and raise the efficiency of t~e educational system. Primary and secondary enrollment in Chile i.s relatively high but, on average, school graduates are not satisfactorily prepared. The quality of education needs further improvement and the subjects taught should reflect more closely employment possibilitie$. The training of primary school teachers has already been upgraded from the 0 secondary to the post,secondary level to improve the quality of primary edu~a- tion. However, existing facilities are inadequate. The project being financed • ~ncludes the construction and equipping of one new primary teacher training college and the expansion and modernization of 10 existing ones. This will \) pe:rmit enrollment to increase by 2,223 to a total of 3,077. The curriculmn will be modernized, with greater emphasis on general education and the /more Bank P.R. No. 70/14 - Chile-Education - 2 - acquisition of practical teaching skills throughout a three-year training period. ~ The project also includes the construction and equipping of four new agricultural secondary schools and expansion and modernization of seven others. This w_!.11 make it possible to phase out a large number of smaller, poorly located schools. The enlarged and improved agricultural schools will provide 3,326 new places, and will contribute to the Government's efforts to increase the supply of trained middle-level manpower. Related technical assistance and overseas training of staff for teacher training and agricultural secondary education will facilitate the introduction of' modern curricula. The Ministry of Education will establish a special unit headed by a full- time Director to coordinate and supervise construction and the acquisition of equipment for the schools and colleges. The total e·stimated cost of the project is $14 million. The $7 million Bank loan will cover half the total, including the cost of imported instruc- tional equipment and books, building materials, technical assistance and o.ver- seas training. Missions in 1967 and 1968 from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) identified the priority needs of Chile's educational system, and helped the Government to prepare a project to expand and improve secondary schools and teacher training facilities. The project now being financed by the Bank was based on these reconnnendations. $1.5 million, 25-year, 5 years of grace, 7% loan to Corporacion de Fomento de la Producci6n (CORFO), guaranteed by The Republic of Chile CORFO will make the proceeds of this loan available to its subsidiary, Instituto Nacional de Capacitaci6n Profesional (INACAP), which has the main responsibility in Chile for providing vocational training in industry and • agriculture. A $2. 75 million Bank loan in 1965 enabled !NA.CAP to double its capacity to 30,000 trainees a year, improving the ffi!Jlity of training and offering more diversified courses to meet changing~--.:nanpower requirements. The project being assisted by the new Ban~ loan will enable IRA.CAP to expand its annual training capacity to about 38,000 trainees. It includes (a) the acquisition of 22 mobile units for agricultural training, and 7 mobile units and a boat for fishery training; (b) the construction of 7 new buildings vith workshops, classrooms, laboratories and related facilities for the training of agricultural mechanics, automobile mechanics, sheetmetal workers, refrigeration and air-conditioning technicians, and garment workers; and (c) the acgµisition of additional equipment for existing training programs. The project 'i-J scheduled for completion in three years at a total cost equivalent to $3 million. INACAP's present capacity can take care of only about a quarter of Chile's annual requirements for vocational training. It is estimated that within the next five years 61,000 new entrants into the labor market and 56,000 already employed might benefit from vocational training or retraining annually. In addition to the 8,000 additional trainees which the Bank project will make possible, places for another 2,500 annually will be provided by a training center for metallurgy and electrical trades being jointly financed by INACAP and the Governments of France and Germany. - 0 -