WASHINGTON, December 2, 2014 – The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a project today aimed at supporting raising endowment and quality in rural schools in Argentina, totaling US$250 million. The initiative seeks to support Argentina in reducing repetition rates in primary school and increasing the enrollment and completion rates in rural secondary schools, as a way to improve the results of the rural education sector.
“The National Government is firmly committed to providing all of our compatriots with the opportunities and tools needed for their development and inclusion. This program is one in a series of projects which seek to support a set of public policies aimed at improving the coverage and the quality of the Argentine educational system, contributing to the improvement of teaching and learning conditions, teacher training and infrastructure,” maintained Alberto Sileoni, Minister of Education of Argentina.
Specifically, the Second Rural Education Improvement Project is going to:
- Reduce repetition rates in rural primary schools from 6.7 to 4 percent.
- Increase the enrollment rate in secondary schools in such a way that at least 85 percent of those completing primary school start secondary school (it is currently 72 percent).
- Increase the transition rate between ninth and tenth grade from 92 to 96 percent.
“We support this program in order to ensure rural youth have the same educational and job opportunities as an urban youngster,” said Jesko Hentschel, World Bank Director for Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, adding that “the project is going to reach 15,000 rural schools, harboring almost one million students and 150,000 teachers.”
In order to reach these objectives, teachers, school directors and supervisors will be trained on teaching and school management techniques. It will strengthen the link between families and schools as a way to increase student permanence; it will also improve service provision in secondary schools, thanks to investments in infrastructure, instructional material and equipment.
Between 2005 and 2013, the World Bank supported the Rural Education Improvement Project, increasing the number of under-5-year olds enrolled in school and improving the promotion rates between first and eighth grades.
The Second Rural Education Improvement Project will be financed via a variable-margin, US$250.5 million loan, with a 32.5year maturity period and a 7.5-year grace period.
