Sunday, January 17, 2010

Education Hard Hit By HaIti Quake

On Thursday, Unesco Director-General Irina Bokova called on the international community to show solidarity with Haiti and said the Paris-based organisation was "preparing an action plan for rapid intervention to reactivate education provision".

"The destruction of the university in Port-au-Prince and of numerous secondary and primary schools in Tuesday's earthquake, and the human loss of teachers and students, is a catastrophic set-back for a country already hit by other disasters," Bokova said in a statement.

Unesco is mobilising support for temporary educationa facilities and for reconstruction. "I also urge academia to show solidarity. Universities in the region and beyond should make every effort to take in Haitian students," Bokova added.

1 comment:

John Daly said...

A knowledgeable colleague wrote me:

"UNESCO will be focusing most especially on the recovery, repair, reconstruction and revitalisation of higher education and secondary education, new places in other universities for Haitian tertiary education students, teacher training for all levels, and the reconstruction of the destroyed Ministry of Education.

"UNESCO will need considerable help to accomplish this work and should work in partnership with other international partners!

"This situation presents some opportunities for improved policies and plans for education and related areas."