World Bank on Education, teachers, and unions .. .

[mzteris]

Note: I'm not a huge "fan" of the World Bank - I think they have good intentions and poor execution - but then again the grand scope of their plans are kinda hard to carry through with so many players and so litte money. . . My point in this - (as I am with so many things) - is that if you're going to try and skewer someone - you should look at a bigger picture than posed some who doesn't like them and uses quotes of the WB from 1998! to support their claims of WB "union hatred". the other thing people seem to do in arguments is try and apply their limited experience knowledge to conditions from vastly differing cultures, economic systems, mores, religions, political structure, infrastructure, etc... You can't "manage" Zimbabwe the same way you'd manage El Salvador or Uzbekistan or the US.

at any rate, just trying to get a bigger picture out there 'cause I like 360 views on just about everything.

Here are few little bits snippets - to get a better picture you'd have to review all the documents on approach to education and some of the unique challenges that are faced in particular parts of the world.



"The World Bank believes in public education, and together with UNICEF with are campaigning for free primary education and the abolition of school fees. But this must be done in a way that recognizes the capacity of various countries and does not sacrifice quality.

We believe it is the responsibility of governments to allocate resources to education and we use our leverage not only to increase the volume of resources going to the sector, but also to ensure that the composition of expenditures and their quality contribute to the objective of a quality education for all.

And we believe in the importance of life long learning, from early childhood development to primary, secondary and university education and for people to continue to learn in a world where knowledge has become a key ingredient for countries to grow and compete.

The World Bank is investing heavily in education: over 2 billion on average per year over the past 3 years, a tripling of previous amounts. We provide countries with policy advice, and we use debt relief provided to poor countries in the context of the HIPC (highly indebted poor countries initiatives) to increase expenditures in education and health.

We have participated in launching the fast track initiative and we are today the largest financier of the fight against HIV and Aids, a disease that is decimating the teaching profession and depriving AIDS orphans of an education.

. . . In all this, the role of teachers is essential. And partnership with teachers' unions and their members is vital: no other organization has the same potential for the deep understanding of a country's education system, down to the last school, down to the last teacher, down to the last student.

The World Bank is carrying out studies looking at how to give greater support to teachers on issues of key concern: providing services to children with disability, measuring student learning outcomes, reducing gender-based disparities in access to learning, improving access for rural children, and improving instructional time. These will be done in collaboration with teacher unions and other civil society groups.

To give an education to the 115 million children currently out of school, a number of tough challenges need to be met. The strategic choices they imply are often cast as either/or choices-teachers or textbooks, access or quality, pre-service or in-service education, and so on. But this dichotomization is not how education systems work, nor is it how meaningful reform occurs. The real choice is in determining a balance that achieves the objectives in a resource constrained environment and to be flexible in managing this balance as conditions improve.. (Remarks at the Education International 4th World Congress By Jean-Louis Sarbib Senior Vice-President, World Bank Porto Alegre, Brazil, July 22, 2004) http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTEDUCATION/0,,contentMDK:20232836~menuPK:282425~pagePK:64020865~piPK:149114~theSitePK:282386,00.html

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(World )Bank Staffer Helps Take AIDS Prevention to African Schoolchildren
* In the fight against HIV/AIDS, children “represent our window of hope to the future.”
* Once resistant, Sub-Saharan ministries of education now embrace prevention programs.
* Programs reach 90 million schoolchildren in 26 countries.

Bank's Human Development Network is a “lean and mean operation” consisting of three people. He said the small team is able to leverage results through its partnership in the Accelerate Initiative Working Group, established in 2002 by the Joint UN Programme on HIV & AIDS, as well as by working with Bank staff in regional and country offices. The working group also includes other development organizations, civil society, teachers' unions and the media.

. . . The framework for the prevention initiative is the joint UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, World Bank- developed Focusing Resources on Effective School Health (FRESH), which uses a skills-based approach to show schoolchildren how prevention - including sexual abstinence, avoiding multiple sexual partnerships, and using condoms - can prevent HIV/AIDS infection.

. . . Teachers Are Considered Role Models'

A major component of FRESH is working closely with the teachers. They are key, Bundy says, because of their dual role in the classroom and the overall community. Hilda Eghan, coordinator for Ghana's Ministry of Education - and one of the officials with whom Bundy and the Accelerate group work - says, in the video, “In many urban and rural areas our teachers are considered role models.

Thomas Abokyi, a teacher in training who is responsible for a classroom of 8- to 11-year-olds at Teacher Mota Primary School in Accra, Ghana, says in the video: “As a teacher in the community, people look up to me. Whatever I do, they try to emulate.” Accelerate has received strong cooperation from Sub-Saharan teachers' unions, whose members have attended 21 of the 24 instructional workshops over the past five years. . . http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTEDUCATION/0,,contentMDK:21561838~menuPK:282424~pagePK:64020865~piPK:149114~theSitePK:282386,00.html

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World Bank supports improvement of basic education in Uzbekistan
Publication: UzReport.com
Date: Friday, October 16 2009

The World Bank and the government of Uzbekistan signed a $28 million IDA credit for the second phase of Uzbekistan Basic Education Project (BEP 2) on 15 October.

The project will continue supporting the Government of Uzbekistan's efforts to improve the quality of basic education and increase the effectiveness
of teaching and learning in the country.

The second phase of the Basic Education Project will build upon the capacity developed and lessons learned in the first phase of the project, which is still under implementation, to help the Ministry of Public Education to implement new activities and foster broad education reform.


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World Bank Board Approves First Development Policy Loan for Namibia’s Education and Training Sector Improvement Program
WASHINGTON , May 24, 2007 – The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development loan of US$7.5 million to support the Government of the Republic of Namibia ’s education and training sector improvement program. The World Bank program will contribute to Government efforts to equitably increase the immediate supply of middle to high level skills required to meet current labor market demands, to lay a foundation for a sustainable supply of skills required for future equitable growth and to facilitate Namibia ’s transition to a knowledge-based economy . . . This program is consistent with the Bank’s Africa Action Plan (AAP) flagship goal of building skills for competitiveness in a global economy that supports activities that accelerate the attainment of education MDGs, build skills to promote growth, strengthen partnerships, and strengthen partner countries’ capacity to design, implement and monitor their own sector development plans and programs. Program preparation benefited from inputs from a broad base of stakeholders from the public, private and parastatal sectors, academics, civil society, teachers’ unions and international development partners. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTEDUCATION/0,,contentMDK:21347605~menuPK:282423~pagePK:64020865~piPK:149114~theSitePK:282386,00.html


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and one more time, just because I post something in rebuttal to doesn't mean I hate all of the one and support all of the other.

[mzteris]

1. kickinng, 'cause

I still haven't heard any responses to the whole "the World Bank hates education and unions" stuff going around in light of info showing quotes indicating otherwise.

Jes wonderin folks . . .

:shrug:


(DU needs a cricket smilie. . . )

[ZeitgeistObserver]

2. A good meme is hard to give up?

I have no idea where all that anti-World Bank education stuff came from. A trip to their website would have cleared it up. Actually they are taking good and useful steps to improving things.

[mzteris]

3. yup. Google is your friend...

though some prefer ONLY biased blogs with agendas to copy and paste information.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

4. I never understand why people

prefer hype to reality. They will simply be embarrassed when they repeat this kind of thing in public.