Education Reform and Investment Program
ARGENTINA
SECTOR: Education
PROJECT NAME: Education Reform and Investment Program
(845/OC-AR)
TOTAL COST: $600 million
FINANCING:
IDB $300 million
LOCAL $300 million
DATE OF APPROVAL: December 7, 1994
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The objective of this program is to
provide support to the provincial
governments for: (a) improving the
quality and increasing the coverage of
pre-primary and basic general education,
with particular attention to the
neediest population groups; and (b)
improving the efficiency and equity of
the education system through effective
implementation of the Federal Education
Act. This program is part of a process
aimed at reforming Argentina's education
system to correct inequities under what
is being termed the "social debt" and
develop the basic human skills and
scientific and technical capabilities
that the country needs to compete
successfully in international markets.
This project is a five-year program
consisting of a package of provincial
projects that were designed and will be
executed by the provincial governments, with
assistance and coordination provided by the
national government.
Each provincial project has a reform and an
investment component. The reform component
includes funding for advisers and other
technical resources needed to prepare and
evaluate sequential actions aimed at setting
up the institutional, financial, and
educational management and delivery
frameworks required under the new Federal
Education Act of 1993. These actions fall
into five categories: (a) institutional aspects;
(b) financial aspects; (c) teachers; (d)
curriculum design and implementation; and (e)
infrastructure and equipment.
The investment component will finance the
increase in numbers and improvement in
quality of the physical and human resources
available to the provinces. These
investments are classified as: (a) teacher
training and development; (b) innovative
education projects; (c) procurement and
distribution of textbooks and other teaching
materials; (d) infrastructure; and (e)
equipment.
CONSULTANTS: The reform component calls for funding
approximately 1,300 staff/hours of technical
assistance per province for the preparation
of diagnoses and development of action plans
or design of policies, programs and projects.
The purpose is to support the following
processes, by area: (a) institutional
aspects; (b) financial aspects; (c) teacher
training; (d) curriculum design and
implementation; and (e) maintenance of
education plant and equipment.
GOODS AND EQUIPMENT: Equipment will be purchased for
instruction and school administration
($42.1 million). In addition, textbooks
and other teaching materials will be
acquired ($42 million), including 1.5
million textbooks for pre-primary and
basic general education, sufficient
notebooks, and other school and library
materials to supply the areas in
greatest need.
CIVIL WORKS: The need to expand and refurbish school
infrastructure at the pre-primary and basic
education levels (so as to accommodate the
demand ensuing from the lengthening of
compulsory schooling) exceed the reach of
this program. However, the program does
provide for the construction of: (a)
approximately 114,000 square meters of
classroom space and buildings for pre-primary
education; (b) 196,000 square meters of
classrooms and buildings for basic general
education; and (c) 46,000 square meters of
other areas for basic general education.
EXECUTING AGENCY: Ministerio de Cultura y Educación (MCE)
Pizzurno 935
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Telephone: (54-1) 812-6650
Fax: (54-1) 425-330
