Colombia: World Bank Approves $200 Million Loan for Higher Education

WASHINGTON, December 23, 2002 — The World Bank today approved a $200 million loan to improve the quality and equity of higher education in Colombia.

The Higher Education Financing Reform Project recognizes that a high-quality university and college system is crucial to Colombia’s competitiveness in the global market. Furthermore, students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds must be given access to a good education in order to achieve a more equitable society.

”Inequitable access to tertiary education continues to perpetuate income inequalities and social divisions,” said Isabel Guerrero, the World Bank’s Country Director for Colombia and Mexico. ”This project will help economically-disadvantaged Colombians gain the knowledge and skills they need to achieve greater prosperity and help curb the flight of better-educated people to other countries.”

A decade ago, 55 percent of secondary school graduates continued to universities and colleges, in 1999 that figure was only 37 percent. Enrolment rates for the wealthiest segment of society are much higher than for the poorest groups.  Beyond enrollment, the quality of many courses is inadequate and the skills taught of low relevance in the labor market. The result is unemployment and a continuing shortage of the technical and professional skills so vital to Columbia’s economic development.

With demand for tertiary education in Colombia growing, the project will support the Columbian government’s strategy to introduce a broader-based student loan system, improve research capacity, and improve the quality of degree courses and their relevance to the demands of the labor market.

The Higher Education Financing Reform Project has three objectives:

·First, able students from the poorest backgrounds will be eligible to receive a mix of grants and loans, administered by the agency for student loans, Instituto Colombiano de Credito Educativo y Estudios Tecnicos en le Exterior (ICETEX).

·Second, top Colombian researchers will be given adequate resources, including student assistants, to induce them to remain in the country and create doctoral programs and centers of excellence.

·Third, a research center (Observatorio Laboral) will be financed to examine the performance of graduates in the labor market, and the quality and relevance of degree courses, thus providing the incentive for institutions to provide high-quality education that will improve the employment prospects of their graduates.

The US$200 million, fixed-spread loan, repayable in 13 years, includes a grace period of seven years and will be disbursed between 2003 and 2008.

To find more information on this project, please visit:
http://www4.worldbank.org/sprojects/Project.asp?pid=P074138

For more information on the World Bank’s work in the Latin America and Caribbean region, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/lac.