WASHINGTON, 23 November 2016 – The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved a US$90.5 million loan to increase the participation and permanence of students in public technical and technological education programs designed and implemented in collaboration with Ecuadorian employers. This project will also help strengthen the institutional management of technical and technological education in the country.
The Project to Restructure Public Higher Technical and Technological Education, which is implemented by the Secretariat of Higher Education, Science and Technology (SENESCYT), will work to improve technical and technological education services in the provinces, education quality and administrative capabilities of institutes; to train teachers and directors; and to strengthen institutional coordination mechanisms with the private sector. It also includes a gender plan to monitor access and attendance rates of female students to promote equal access to technical education.
According to the national government, this financing will promote the development of human talent associated with the change in the productive structure. A key project activity will be supporting the design of a study plan aligned with the needs of the labor market. The project will also provide adequate infrastructure to facilitate learning, promote linkages between secondary and higher education and strengthen the management of the country’s technical and technological education system.
“The project will support government efforts to improve the quality of technical and technological education programs with a view to increasing access, attendance and graduation of students through an alternative to the traditional university education that stimulates productivity. To this end, it is crucial to coordinate with employers, particularly in the private sector,” said Alberto Rodríguez, World Bank Director for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
This loan will be used to build and equip 11 technical institutes in the provinces of Bolívar, El Oro, Guayas, Manabí, Pichincha, Tungurahua and Sucumbíos.
This project seeks to train workers with the skills the labor market requires. The total World Bank loan is US$102.47 million, of which SENESCYT will contribute US$11.97 million.
The project is expected to be completed by 2021. The loan term is 35 -year maturity, including a 17-year grace period.
Contacts:
In Washington: Marcela Sánchez-Bender, (202) 473-5863, msanchezbender@worldbank.org,
In Quito: Cristina Medina, (593) 22943600 ext. 676, cmedina1@worldbank.org
To learn more about the work of the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean, see: www.bancomundial.org/alc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bancomundial
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BancoMundialLAC
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/BancoMundialLAC
Press Release
2016/255/LAC
