$247.1 Million Allocated to PESP

A sum of $247.1 million has been allocated to the Primary Education Support Project (PESP), which falls under the Primary Education Programme in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture.
The funds, which are earmarked in the 2004/05 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House, are focussed on contributing to the improved performance, efficiency and equity of the primary education system, through the effective implementation of the Revised Primary Curriculum and the national assessment standards in all primary schools.
The targets for the financial year 2004/05 include the refinement of Grades 3, 4 and 6 Diagnostic Tests; the design and development of literacy intervention training programmes for Resource teachers; and the implementation of a pilot project in Instructional Technology.
Achievements realized under this project up to December 2003 include: the training of approximately 8,000 principals and teachers to deliver the Revised Primary Curriculum; the granting of 27 fellowships, including two long-term fellowships at the Masters and Doctorate levels; and the training of 50 principals overseas and 235 to complete training locally by April 2004, in education administration and broad-based leadership skills, under the Principal Diploma Programme.
The project, which is slated to come to an end in 2005, is funded by the Government and the Inter-Amercian Development Bank (IDB).