COLOMBIA - EDUCATION SECTOR LOAN V

THE LOAN WILL PROVIDE THE INFRASTRUCTURE NECESSARY FOR THE "NUCLEATION" OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS, THE BROADENING OF SECONDARY CURRICULUM, AND THE "INTEGRATION" OF UNIVERSITIES. "NUCLEATION" REFERS TO CENTRAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS KNOWN AS RURAL DEVELOPMENT CENTERS (RDC"S) WHICH WILL OFFER A MINIMUM OF 5 GRADES AND HAVE A RADIUS OF INFLUENCE OVER SEVERAL SATELLITE SCHOOLS. THIRTY-EIGHT RDC"S WILL BE RENOVATED AND EXPANDED. SATELLITE SCHOOLS WILL BE UPGRADED TO OFFER AT LEAST 3 GRADES. THIRTEEN RDC"S OFFERING DIVERSIFIED VOCATIONAL EDUCATION WILL ALSO BE CONSTRUCTED ALONG WITH 2000 CLASSROOMS TO BE ADDED TO SELECT URBAN AND RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS NOT SERVICED BY RDC"S. SECONDARY CURRICULUM WILL BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE DIVERSIFIED TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION. TWENTY-FIVE VOCATIONAL SERVICE CENTERS WILL BE CONSTRUCTED AND EQUIPPED TO SERVE 100 SATELLITE SECONDARY SCHOOLS. THE SATELLITE SECONDARY SCHOOLS WILL BE RENOVATED SO THAT VOCATIONAL TRAINING CAN BE INCLUDED INTO THEIR CURRICULUM. THE UNIVERSITY INTEGRATION COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT WILL ENCOURAGE COOPERATION BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES IN THE SAME REGION OR WITH SIMILAR SPECIALTY DISCIPLINES. THE LOAN WILL SUPPORT EXPANSION OF SPECIAL COMPETENCIES AT UNIVERSITIES WITHIN A PARTICULAR REGION. THE SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE (ICCE) WILL ADMINISTER ALL CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATION, AND EQUIPPING AT THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY LEVELS. THE INSTITUTE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION (ICFES) WILL IMPLEMENT ALL UNIVERSITY-LEVEL ACTIVITIES. THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION WILL DEVELOP AND DISTRIBUTE TEXTBOOKS AND EDUCATIONAL AIDS FOR USE IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS. THIS EFFORT IS A SUB-PROJECT OF AN AID/GOC EDUCATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT WHICH, IN TURN, COMPLEMENTS AN ON-GOING MULT-DONOR EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.