Projects > Brief descriptions > Programme to Promote Better Education

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For further information please contact:
Dr Luis Enrique López
Email: luis.lopez-hurtado@giz.de

Programme to Promote Better Education

Programme description

Title: Programme to Promote Better Education (PACE)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ
Country: Guatemala
Lead executing agency: Ministerio de Educación (MINEDUC)
Overall term: 2005 to 2013

Context

Indigenous teacher in Guatemala teaching Spanish as a second language © GTZ

In just a short period of time, the Guatemalan Government has achieved great success and has considerably improved access to primary education. In 2007, the school enrolment rate there was 95 %. It has also undertaken major steps to improve access to secondary school education, particularly in rural areas.

The quality of education in Guatemala remains inadequate, however. This is confirmed by the educational indicators: 27 % of the adult population are illiterate, the repetition rate after the first year at school is 24 % and just 61 % of pupils complete primary school. This also has an effect on secondary school education. The proportion of children enrolled for secondary school is 38 %. There are also significant differences between rural and urban areas and between the indigenous and the non-indigenous population. Teaching in pupils’ native language plays a key role in improving the quality of education, but many indigenous pupils are still taught only in Spanish rather than their mother tongue, which hampers their development at school.

Guatemala requires targeted support that also deals with the structural causes of these problems in order to bring about sustainable improvement in the public education system and the quality of education. In particular, the aim is to remove barriers that exist due to ethnicity, gender and regional (rural/urban) origin. Improved primary education plays a key role in combating poverty and promoting the peace process.

Objective

Education in Guatemala, particularly in rural areas, conforms to the requirements of a multi-ethnic society undergoing a process of modernisation.

Approach

Mothers in Guatemala participate pro-actively in school management. © GTZ

The Programme to Promote Better Basic Education (Programa de Apoyo a la Calidad Educativa – PACE) is working with Guatemala’s Education Ministry at national and departmental level to reform the education system.

The programme focuses on the following areas:

Educational management: Strengthening the institutional and specialist capacities of the departmental education directorates in connection with the decentralisation of the education sector.
Intercultural bilingual education: Promoting intercultural bilingual education at preschool and primary levels within the context of the national further training plan for teachers and with the active involvement of parents and local communities.
Rural secondary school education: Identifying formal and informal educational opportunities in rural areas which better conform to the requirements of the local labour market and the needs of the population.
Education for food security: Imparting and strengthening pupils’ life skills with parents’ active involvement.

The project promotes institutional capacities and individual competences of Education Ministry staff and combines specialist advisory services for education with management and organisational advice at local, departmental and national levels. The involvement of local NGOs involved in the education sector also makes an important contribution to strengthening civil society.

Constructive dialogue and coordination efforts are under way with KfW and with another twelve donor organisations in the network of agencies that operate in the international education sector.

Results achieved so far

Through the cooperation with pilot schools at primary and secondary school level, the programme has contributed to pressing ahead with the introduction of the national basic curriculum. To this end, it has developed teaching materials and methods, and in particular intercultural bilingual education, thereby giving new impetus to teaching in Maya languages and to Spanish as a second language. In addition, school development projects have been carried out in 393 schools, thereby promoting the active involvement of parents and the local community. This has ensured that instruction corresponds better to local needs and the socio-cultural context and contributed to improvements in local school management.

On the basis of these experiences and taking a participative approach, the programme has agreed a close cooperation programme with the Education Ministry at national and departmental levels since 2010, in order to ensure the sustainability of its effects.