WASHINGTON, 29 September 2023 – The Executive Directors of the World Bank today approved a project designed to bolster security, resilience, and the quality of school infrastructure and early childhood education in Ecuador. The project, valued at US$190 million, will help to improve the results in education, which will benefit approximately 790,000 students and 12,000 teachers.
“This program will help to increase access to and quality of education in more than 1,200 educational institutions nationwide, especially those in rural areas. By 2028, this program is expected to double enrolment in the institutions involved and greatly enhance the quality of education, thereby improving opportunities for children and adolescents, with special emphasis on the early childhood education level," said María Brown, Minister of Education.
The project will support the recovery and acceleration of learning through improvements in school infrastructure in order to promote the health and well-being of students, by creating resilient, inclusive, and energy-efficient spaces that help to address the country's high vulnerability to climate risks.
It will also contribute to the updating of the curriculum for pre-school teachers with innovative pedagogical models that will improve the quality of teaching in the classroom and prepare students for entry into school. The project will provide classroom equipment and resources, prioritizing the creation of reading spaces through library networks in marginalized rural areas.
In addition, a contingent emergency response component has been included, which will allow funds to be reallocated in the event of a disaster to assist schools whose infrastructure is affected.
“We support investment in suitable and safe schools to improve the teaching-learning process in Ecuador, a country exposed to multiple climate hazards. Investing in better conditions for pre-school education is crucial for children's future and opportunities” saidIssam Abousleiman, World Bank Country Director for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru.
The schools to be supported have been identified based on a set of criteria, namely: poverty level, as measured by the unsatisfied basic needs index; security risk, based on indicators of violence in the areas where the schools are located; and concentration of the migrant population.
The loan is a 17-year variable margin loan with an 8-year grace period.
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