Santiago Gives Consensus on Education, Inequality

World Bank Lending to LAC for Education and Key Poverty-Related Areas ($ millions, fiscal year) Sector 1995-97 (avg) 1998 (est) education 434 1428 health 439 749 social funds 372 235 water & san. 208 361 agric/rural dev 445 596 note: health includes lending for population and nutrition activities

"Ten years ago you didn't have a cohesive idea of a Latin American system. Today, free trade—the dream of the largest free market in the world—was a given [in our discussions]. Now there's a Santiago consensus."

Just back from the Summit of the Americas, where leaders from 34 Western Hemisphere nations met to discuss trade, education, poverty reduction and democracy, Wolfensohn said talks went beyond discussions of macroeconomic stability and focused on "the real issues of social equity and justice."

Wolfensohn led a World Bank delegation to Santiago where the Summit endorsed a plan of action to improve both the quantity and the quality of education.

Before leaving for the Summit, members of the delegation spoke to reporters about the Bank's activities and concerns in the region.

"The main problem is the quality of education," said World Bank Vice President for Latin America Shahid Javed Burki. "Latin American governments spend a significant proportion of their GDP on education. In fact, if you compare the factors of Latin America with East Asia, you will find that there is not too much of a difference. But the quality is not very high—the quality of teachers, textbooks used, and the [inadequate] amount of time students spend in school."

Burki said the Bank was planning to increase its lending for education from $2 billion to at least $3 billion over the next few years. The Bank also plans to increase lending to tackle poverty and discrimination from $3.5 billion to $5.5 billion or more.

Donald Winkler, an education specialist at the World Bank, emphasized that all children should have equal access to quality education.

"The commitment being made by the political leaders is extremely important," Winkler said. Clearly, poorer children don't receive the quality of instruction that richer children do. And that is a major source of inequalities. Winkler said that children from wealthier families made up the bulk of the less than 40 percent of students enrolled in pre-school and secondary school.

"Working with governments, the World Bank is trying to address both of these issues in a variety of ways, be it supporting efforts to extend the school year or the amount of time that children spend learning, or be it efforts to try to improve the quality of what goes on inside the classroom."

Poverty and Inequality

The Bank estimates that 38 percent of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean lives in poverty, or on an income of $2 a day. Of this group, 16 percent live in extreme poverty, or on an income of $1 a day.

"This translates into 175 million people living in poverty, of which 65 million are living in absolute poverty," said Burki.

Disparities between the rich and poor are acute. On average, the lower 20 percent of the population earns about 4 percent of total national income, while the wealthiest 10 percent receives about 45 percent of total income.

"We are looking at the impact of our programs on the poor," said Burki. improving the quality of education and health, and concentrating our efforts on vulnerable groups, especially women, youth in cities, indigenous people and rural people."

The Bank estimates that about 37 percent of its investment lending to the region goes directly to reduce poverty. Through social funds, the Bank helps finance water supply, irrigation and minor infrastructure projects. The Bank is also supporting maternal and child health projects for poor women and children; land registration projects in Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico Bolivia and Peru; agricultural development and rural credit programs; and projects focused on the specific needs of the region's 30 million indigenous people.

Region Taking Lead in New Approaches to Education

The EDUCO project in El Salvador takes the sort of community development approach the Bank is eager to see replicated in the region. The Bank-supported program was developed by the El Salvadoran government and brings parents in as very close partners in managing their children's education.

The long-term holistic approach of a Bank-support program developed by the Brazilian government is also helping to revitalize public schools. Brazil has defined a 5 to 10 year program that aims to improve education by making the quality of teachers, textbooks, and school facilities appropriate to the needs of different communities. For more information, call Monica Echeverria-Cota, (202) 473-1315, fax 522-3698, or e-mail mecheverriacota@worldbank.org.