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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Photo via Ministry of Public Education.
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Published
on Monday, December 9,
2024
By
the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
According to the international financial institution headquartered in Washington D.C., U.S.A., the loan will be used to finance the “Costa Rica Results in Education” project to improve the foundational learning, digital competencies, and employability skills of students in public primary and high schools. The project aims to benefit one million students (51 % girls and 49% boys) in preschool, primary, and secondary education, improving their learning outcomes and digital skills, and testing and grading systems. The initiative will provide 90,000 teachers and administrative staff in the education system with access to pedagogical platforms and close to 18,000 MEP employees can use digital tools. In addition, approximately 180,000 students in technical programs and 50,000 Indigenous, migrant, and refugee students will benefit from these upgrades. “Costa Rica needs an overhaul of its education system that will deliver a positive and sustainable impact on students, equipping them with the tools they need to navigate challenges in the job market, changes in digital technologies, and environmental sustainability," said Finance Minister Nogui Acosta-Jaén. "The World Bank’s support is a significant contribution to this much-needed process in the country.” According to Acosta, the project is expected to help students develop strong reading, comprehension, and numeracy skills, which are considered to be the building blocks for lifelong learning. In addition to focusing on reading and writing, the project provides for sustained investment in digital capabilities through platforms, learning management systems, connectivity, hardware, and on-site support. Costa Rica has been a pioneer in the teaching of computer science since the 1980s, and the project will support the implementation of the National Program for Technological Preparedness (PNFT) to ensure that the country continues to be a world leader in teaching computational thinking.
The
PNFT covers four
areas: Technological
Adaptation, Algorithms
and Programming,
Physical Computation
and Robotics, and Data
Science and Artificial
Intelligence.
The
$200 million loan
financed by the
International Bank for
Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD), is
a variable-rate loan
with a 33.5-year
maturity and a grace
period of six years.
However,
before being able to
execute the loan, the
government must
present the agreement
with the bank before
Congress. It's up to
the deputies to decide
whether to approve or
reject the
multi-million-dollar
loan.
This
is one of many loans
requested by Costa
Rica to international
banks. Last
month, as part of
the pre-investment
program, the
Honduras-headquartered
Central American
Bank for Economic
Integration (Cabei)
approved $5.9
cooperation funds to
develop studies for
the repair of
several roads in
Costa Rica.
Statistics
from the Ministry of
Finance show that in
2023, the country's
debt stood at 59.0% of
the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), which
is equivalent to
approximately $49
billion.
The
Ministry of Public
Education (MEP) is the
government agency in
charge of overseeing
the public education
system, implementing
plans, programs, and
other actions to
provide basic, public,
and free general
education.
The
Ministry of Finance is
the government
organization that
regulates fiscal
policy for public
resources based on
economic, efficiency,
and effectiveness
principles.
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