February 2010 - The latest issue of the newsletter of the Education for All - Fast Track Initiative (EFA - FTI) has been released. Our intention is to keep our partners and friends informed about FTI programs and activities on a bi-monthly basis. If you would like to submit a text item for the upcoming newsletter, please send an email by mid-April to the EFA - FTI Secretariat, email: ydoignon@educationfasttrack.org

Washington, DC -- 01/15/2010 -- As you know, the people of Haiti are suffering terribly after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince last Tuesday.  Haiti is an FTI partner country, and we are trying to mobilize our resources to help as best as we can. Concerning the situation on the ground in Haiti for the education sector:  The Ministry of Education buildings were destroyed as were many schools.  The Ministry of Education does not currently have operational capacity, and many government officials working in the education sector are unaccounted for at this point.  There have been many casualties.  NGOs such as Catholic Relief Services and many others are functioning, though often with many staff unaccounted for. Read more

Washington, DC -- 01/07/10 -- Bob Prouty, who has been Acting Head of the FTI Secretariat since November 2008, was selected by the EFA FTI Board of Directors as the Head of the FTI Secretariat. In this capacity, Bob will be responsible for the management of the FTI Secretariat. He will also work with the Board of Directors and Board Chair Carol Bellamy to operationalize a new results-based framework and other reforms for the FTI Partnership in order to make FTI a more effective multilateral mechanism for global education. Bob holds a Ph.D. in Educational Administration with an emphasis on African Studies and specializes in classroom issues and learning outcomes and also has extensive development experience in education. Bob's appointment is effective January 2010.

Dushanbe --12/14/09 -- On November 5, 2009, the Education for All Fast Track Initiative (EFA FTI) Catalytic Fund has allocated a grant of US$13.5 million for Tajikistan to support the National Strategy for Education Development (NSED) over an 18-months period in 2010-2011. The EFA FTI is a global partnership to assist low-income countries in meeting Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for education and providing additional funding for the implementation of the Education Strategies. The grant to support the Tajikistan’s NSED comes from the EFA FTI Catalytic Fund (FTI CF), a multilateral fund sponsored by 18 donors.
Read Press Release

Kathmandu, Nepal --11/27/09 -- The Education for All Fast Track Initiative announced at its donor meeting in Rome, Italy on  November 5,  2009 that US$120 million will be provided to support the Nepal Government to implement the School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP).The new funding will support Nepal to implement the School Sector Reform Plan over the next three years. The national plan aims to integrate most in-need children into the school system, particularly girls and children from marginalised groups. It also focuses on improving the quality of education and strengthening the institutionalized capacity at central and local level.
Read Press Release

December 8, 2009 - A stakeholder consultation on the FTI evaluation will take place on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 in conjunction with the upcoming UNESCO Working Group meetings to be held at UNESCO in Paris. The objective of the consultation is for interested stakeholders to provide feedback and input to the ongoing EFA-FTI evaluation.  Beginning in late 2008, a consortium of international consultants has been conducting an independent evaluation of the EFA-FTI’s relevance, effectiveness and efficiency.  This evaluation has included analysis at the global level, numerous country case studies, and interviews with hundreds of FTI partners and stakeholders. 

November 2009 – The Royal Government of Bhutan’s 2002-2020 Education Sector Strategy became endorsed by the EFA-FTI partnership making it the 40th country to join the list of FTI-endorsed countries. A landlocked country with a predominantly rural population scattered across mountains and living in isolation from the outside world well until the 1960s, Bhutan offered until then very few education opportunities outside of monastic religious institutions. Bhutan has made remarkable strides towards achieving greater education development reaching 81% primary school net enrolment in 2008.  Additional resources are needed to reach the remaining unschooled children and respond to the demand for secondary education as more students climb the school ladder. Local donors will help the country realize its Vision 2020 and funds will be directed towards improving teacher training, ensuring equitable access to education, improving textbook content and providing education to children with special needs. Read the endorsement documents for Bhutan.

November 2009 - The latest issue of the newsletter of the Education for All - Fast Track Initiative (EFA - FTI) has been released. Our intention is to keep our partners and friends informed about FTI programs and activities on a bi-monthly basis. If you would like to submit a text item for the upcoming newsletter, please send an email by mid-January to the EFA - FTI Secretariat, email: information@educationfasttrack.org.