Reviewing
a Regional Education Strategy for Latin America and the
Caribbean
Latin America
November 2001
 Access
to quality education and the enhancement of human capacity
are critical to fulfilling USAID’s mission of alleviating
poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In 1997,
USAID revised its strategic plan placing increased emphasis
on its goal to build human capacity through education and
training. USAID has played a leading role in realizing
the vision set forth by the World Declaration for All in
1990 and renewed through the April 2000 Dakar Forum. USAID’s
education commitment enhanced its capacity to carry out
the mandate of the Summit of the Americas, which highlighted
education as arguably the most important vehicle to prosperity
in the region.
Though USAID’s Education and
Human Resources Unit of the Regional Sustainable Development
Program achieved
important progress in making education a priority in Latin
America, the state of development in the region demonstrated
that poverty and social and economic inequality, as well
as poor educational quality, poor teacher training, and
lack of educational relevance demanded a more flexible
approach to supporting education. A strategic framework
was required, guided by a development vision that moved
beyond a policy-based focus.
The BEPS team was asked to conduct
a thorough review of the performance and impact of the
LAC Bureau’s current
regional education strategy. It reviewed the state of education
in the region, investigated best practices and lessons
learned and identified priorities and options for designing
future programming. The team examined the role of the LAC
regional strategy and its current portfolios, taking into
consideration the experience of in-country missions and
partners, and the role of other donors meeting international
and regional commitments to improve education.
The
BEPS team used the review’s
findings as the basis for advising USAID on potential
new directions for
a regional education strategy and in recommending options
for a new five-year results framework.
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