Contacts In Port au Prince: Alejandro Cedeño (509) 2256-0844 acedeno@worldbank.org In Washington: Patricia da Camara (202) 473-4019 pdacamara@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, April 29, 2008 – The World Bank’s Board of Directors today approved a US$6 million grant for the Republic of Haiti to support the training of large numbers of new teachers for grades 1-6, which will increase children’s access to quality primary education. The Meeting Teacher Needs for Education for All Project will support the development and implementation of an accelerated teacher preparation program to improve access and learning in basic education in order to reach the Education for All (EFA)* goal of universal basic education by 2015. Under this project, recent high school graduates would be selected for a three-year program, consisting of ten months in an Institut de formation des maitres (Teacher Training Institute) and two years of full-time practice teaching. By the end of the project in 2013, the system will expand from graduating fewer than 500 new teachers per year to graduating more than 2,500 new teachers per year. “Expanding access to education is a cornerstone of Haiti's poverty reduction strategy,” said Yvonne Tsikata, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean. “This project will directly support the Haitian Government’s efforts to strengthen governance in the education system and deliver visible benefits to the Haitian people by improving human development outcomes and employing thousands of new teachers.” Haiti’s education sector suffers from weaknesses in access, equity, quality and institutional capacity. Approximately 500,000 children aged 6-11 do not attend school of any kind, and only about half of all six-year-olds enroll in first grade. But the most critical problem facing the education system is the lack of well-prepared teachers. Nationally, fewer than 500 new teachers are certified each year, versus an estimated need of over 2,500 teachers annually to achieve the EFA goal by 2015. Nearly 25 percent of primary school teachers have never attended secondary school and only 15 percent are considered qualified. “Teachers are essential for the expansion of both access and quality of education. The reform will make it possible for new teachers to be available to schools only one year after entering teacher preparation, as opposed to the current three-year lag,” said Raja Bentaouet Kattan, World Bank task team leader for the project. * Education for All (EFA) is an international commitment first launched in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990 to help low-income countries achieve a free, universal basic education by 2015. Partners comprise a broad coalition of national governments, civil society groups, and development agencies such as UNESCOand the World Bank. ### For more information on this project, please visit: http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P106621 For more information on the World Bank’s work in Haiti, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/ht For more information on Education for All, please visit website |
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