Staff Appraisal Report: Commonwealth of Dominica: Basic Education Reform Project

Abstract

The Basic Education Reform Project has the overall objective or accelerating human resource development to ensure the development of the requisite manpower to attain the desired economic transition in Dominica. The project is intended to: a) strengthen the planning and institutional capacity of the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports (MOE) to guide and carry out the long-term development of the sector, while enabling it to initiate significant, urgent measures to address system-wide qualitative problems and expansion needs at the secondary level; and b) serve as a catalyst for a major adjustment process, focused on revision to more reasonable levels of primary and secondary teacher to student ratios, in line with ratios of countries of comparable economic and social development. The project comprises of three major components: 1) a strengthening management and planning component; 2) a qualitative improvement of basic education component, which will enhance the quality of teaching and learning; and 3) an expansion and conservation of school places component, which will assist the MOE to provide more secondary school places in the most under-served districts, in order to reduce long-distance travel and facilitate access to educational opportunities.