CN-BASIC EDUC IN POOR & MINORITY AREA II

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The Basic Education in Poor and Minority Areas Project will support the attainment of universal primary education, and the expansion of coverage of lower secondary education, in poor and minority areas. This will be achieved by: (a) improving the quality and effectiveness of educational inputs to teaching points, primary schools, lower secondary schools and rural normal schools in poor and minority areas; (b) improving management of schools at the primary, lower secondary and normal school levels, as well as the educational system at the township, county, prefecture, province or autonomous region, and national levels; and (c) facilitating innovative activities in book publishing, editing and development (especially in minority languages) and action oriented innovation programs. Under the institutional component, the project will support necessary civil construction and repair to support better the needs of their present and projected student population; provide necessary instructional equipment; staff upgrading through pre-service and in-service training programs; and normal schools pilot activity to reorganize their elementary and lower secondary school teacher training programs. Under the management improvement component, the project will support development of management capabilities for the education system at the central, provincial and institutional levels through staff training, the provision of equipment furniture and expert services through: training of principals, local education management authorities, provisional educational planners, and local project implementation authorities; and the development of an education information management system. The quality enhancement component will promote innovations and other improvements in primary and lower secondary schools by supporting a program of self-generated action-oriented research activities and the development of minority and bilingual book and textbook preparation, production, publication and distribution; and national capacity building activities, including construction of a minority education center, establishment of an Innovation Assessment Group and experts panel which will support training and policy-focused, action-oriented experiments to improve implementation activities common to the project provinces and build up the State Education System to coordinate the implementation and replication of basic education projects.