This is the VOA SpecialEnglish Development Report.
International finance ministers have approved a World Bank planaimed at educating every child in developing countries. The plan iscalled “Education for All.” Its goal is to provide an education forall children between the ages of five and eleven by the yeartwo-thousand-fifteen. The announcement came at the close of WorldBank and International Monetary Fund meetings last month inWashington, D.C.
The World Bank estimates thatabout one-hundred-twenty-five-million children between the ages offive and eleven in poor countries do not attend school. That isabout one of every five children. About seventy-five percent ofthese uneducated children live in southern Africa and South Asia.
Finance ministers at the meetingstrongly praised the education plan. However, they failed to settlea dispute about how to pay for it. The United States wants the WorldBank to give money called grants to poor nations instead of loansthat have to be repaid. European nations are opposed to this policy.They say the grants would use up the World Bank’s resources. So far,only a few industrialized countries, including Germany and theNetherlands, have promised to provide money for the program.
The World Bank plans to launch the new education program in thenext three months. Officials will provide money to ten poorcountries. They will choose countries that have developed strongeducation reform plans but lack the money to put them in place.Tanzania, Malawi, Senegal, Bangladesh and India are among thenations being considered for this project. It is expected to cost upto five-thousand-million dollars.
World Bank President James Wolfensohn hopes the ten countrieswill be chosen by late June. That is when the world’s seven leadingindustrial countries will gather in Canada for their yearly economicmeeting. Mister Wolfensohn hopes an agreement to fully pay for the”Education for All” program can be reached during those talks.
In time, the World Bank plans to give money to eighty-eightdeveloping countries that have a large number of uneducatedchildren. The bank says that at least one-fourth of the countriesare in southern Africa and South Asia. Latin America and the MiddleEast are also areas in need of assistance.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss.