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Special Reports
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Education and human resource
development are the foundations for
national growth and key elements
for economic development. It is not
difficult to access higher education
i n Ta i wan . S t uden t s comi ng
from disadvantaged economic
backgrounds can still apply for
student loans for education. However,
higher education remains a dream
beyond the reach of many youths in
Central American countries, who are
forced to enter the workforce at an
early age as they are unable to pay
for tuition.
To help our partner countries in
Central America develop high-quality
human capital and improve learning
environment, the TaiwanICDF
brought for the first time in 2008
the “educational credit system” to
Central America. This system had
been implemented in Taiwan for
many years with great success.
The TaiwanICDF worked with the
Central American Bank for Economic
Integration (CABEI) to jointly
implement the CABEI Technological
and Vocational Education and
Training Student Loan Fund and
the TaiwanICDF Central America
Technological and Vocational
Education Development Fund.
Promoting education to
benefit national development
CABEI is an important financial
institution supporting development
assistance in Central America;
its primary mission is to promote
the economic integration and the
balanced economic and social
development of its member countries,
and strengthen the financial basis
for regional economic integration.
To CABEI Director Silvio Conrado
Gómez of Nicaragua, a member
country of CABEI, the most important
TaiwanICDF-CABEI collaboration is
the education project.
“Education is the prerequisite
condition for national development.
Development would be limited without
good educational infrastructure,”
emphasizes Director Conrado. To
implement this project, CABEI and
the TaiwanICDF each provided 50
percent of the project’s financial
resources; CABEI was responsible
for project implementation and
monitoring, while the TaiwanICDF
acted as a consultant. It was
expected that financial intermediaries
participating in the project could
p r o v i d e s t u d e n t l o a n s w i t h
competitive interest rates, repayment
plans and grace periods. Such
education loans could help students
with good academic performance
but inadequate financial resources to
continue their academic pursuit with
dignity.
Improvements to education
development funds as well as
innovative curriculum plans for
college and graduate programs
make up the two-pronged approach
to raise the quality of education and
overall competitiveness in the region.
All participants in this project,
from the Taiwanese government,
the TaiwanICDF and CABEI, to the
cooperating universities, expect the
project to bring positive and long-
term impacts and benefits to Central
America. As Director Conrado says:
“I have a particular preference for
the student loan project because
education is the best investment a
country can make, because it offers
unparalleled long-term benefits.
Education helps the nation to
achieve development and builds the
foundation for improving the quality of
life.”
Silvio Conrado Gómez, Director for Nicaragua,
Central American Bank for Economic Integration
(CABEI)
Education is a country's best investment
and offers unparalleled long-term benefits
1
Interview