The World Bank has approved $300 million for the Second Basic Education Project (APL II) in Turkey. With a five year grace period and a 15 year maturity period, the loan will support the implementation of the Turkish government’s Basic Education Program over three years by extending the actions supported under the First Basic Education Program.
The Turkish government requested large-scale support from the World Bank, after the Parliament approved a new Basic Education Law in 1997, which extended the duration of compulsory schooling to eight years and mandated improved quality of basic education. In 1998, the Bank’s Board approved the first of the two Adaptable Program Loans (APLs) of $300 million each to support the implementation of the Government’s Basic Education Program.
The first APL, which financed a subset of the Government’s Basic Education Program, was amended further at the government’s request to incorporate school reconstruction and other actions to support the resumption of education following the1999 Marmara Earthquake.
Within the framework of the first APL, 300 rural basic education schools were refurbished and enlarged; 22,268 rural schools were provided education materials; 3,000 Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) classes were introduced in basic education schools; teachers and inspectors received in-service training; and earthquake-damaged schools were reconstructed. The first APL, scheduled to close at the end of the 2000/2001 school year, has been extended until June 2003. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
