PANAMA - EDUCATION SECTOR

THREE PRIORITY AREAS OF ACTIVITY ARE 1)IMPROVING ADMINISTRATION OF MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, 2)IMPROVING QUALITY OF PRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND NORMAL SCHOOL INSTRUCTION, AND 3)INCREASING NUMBER OF CLASSROOMS. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WILL BE PROVIDED MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (MOE) TO ASSIST REORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROVINCIAL CENTERS. AS ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS PROGRESSES, IN-SERVICE AND PARTICIPANT TRAINING WILL BE PROVIDED 100 MOE STAFF IN ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT. MANAGEMENT AND EVALUATION FUNCTIONS OF MOE PLANNING UNIT TO BE IMPROVED THROUGH TRAING OF 50 STAFF IN STATISTICAL/EVALUATIVE METHODS. ADDITIONALLY, EFFORTS WILL BE MADE TO ESTABLISH A COMPREHENSIVE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION/MAINTENANCE PROGRAM, AND TO IMPROVE MOE COORDINATION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR AND OTHER GOP AGENCIES. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO DEPT. OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT WILL PROVIDE TRAINING AND SEMINARS AND ASSIST DEVELOPMENT OF AN EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND SET OF OBJECTIVES FOR THE REORGANIZATION OF PRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND NORMAL SCHOOL CURRICULA. DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE PROGRAMS AND IMPROVEMENT OF PROGRAMS FOR HANDICAPPED AND RETARDED PLANNED. TEACHING ASSISTANCE WILL BE PROVIDED THROUGH PROVINCIAL CENTERS, AS WILL TRAINING OF SUPERVISORS AND ADMINISTRATORS. IMPROVED TEACHER TRAINING AND IN-SERVICE PROGRAMS WILL STRESS UTILIZATION OF NEW TEACHING MATERIALS AND AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS. ESTABLISHMENT OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH UNIT WILL EXPLORE TECHNOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATIONS. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO BE PROVIDED CONSTRUCTION UNIT OF MOE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE PLAN. TARGETS INCLUDE 7 PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATIVE CENTERS AND A WAREHOUSE, 2 REGIONAL NORMAL SCHOOLS FOR TRAINING OF PRIMARY TEACHERS, 634 PRIMARY AND 175 SECONDARY CLASSROOMS, AND A CENTRAL OFFICE FOR THE MOE. PROJECT WILL DIRECTLY BENEFIT STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE PANAMANIAN SCHOOL SYSTEM.