WB approves $98m loan for education in Sumatra

JAKARTA (JP): The World Bank has approved a US$98 million loan to support the Sumatra Junior Secondary Education Project, the third in a series of Indonesian education projects totaling $301 million.

The loan was approved in Washington on Tuesday, the bank's East Asia and Pacific Regional headquarters stated there yesterday.

The project aims to develop human resources in Indonesia to transform its economy from one based on labor and natural resources to one propelled by industrialization and technology.

According to its ambition to become an industrialized country, Indonesia has been putting more of its teenagers through secondary schools to build an internationally competitive workforce.

Structural transformation of the economy has stimulated growth and employment rates in manufacturing, construction, transport and communications -- sectors that increasingly need skilled workers. The agricultural sector has shrunk by comparison.

By targeting five provinces in Sumatra, the money will be used to build more schools and provide scholarships to 32,000 students.

Improvements in education quality are also targeted, by providing more equipment to schools, advanced training to teachers and better education management.

The project is estimated to cost US$144 million, 71 percent of the cost is to be financed by the US$98 million loan from the World Bank and 29 percent by the Indonesian government.