Representatives of European embassies and UN agencies have expressed their willingness to continue financial support to Tunisia’s Ministry of Education to enable it to carry out its future programmes and projects.
The development partners expressed their willingness to continue to support the country’s education during a meeting organised by the Ministry of Education with a number of technical and financial partners.
According to the European Commission, the aim of the meeting was to further strengthen cooperation and consultation with the Ministry of Education.
Also, the Representative of UNICEF in Tunis, Lilia Peters, stressed the readiness of her organisation to support the efforts of the ministry to achieve the fourth point of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to ensure quality, equitable and comprehensive education for all and to consolidate the process of lifelong learning.
On their part, the UK and Italy’s ambassadors in Tunis said that their countries will continue their commitment to partnership with the Ministry of Education to strengthen the infrastructure and promote education.
The country’s Minister of Education, Fethi Slaouti, said in a statement that his department needed internal and external financial contributions to mobilise the necessary resources for the implementation of projects.
The minister also said that the annual increase in the number of students requires the construction of new schools and the equipment of classrooms.
During the meeting, Slaouti presented the strategy of the Ministry of Education for the coming years, noting that priority will be given to improving the quality of education, reducing disparities between regions, digitisation and good governance.
Development Diaries understands that the North African country is facing a severe learning crisis as the standard of education has declined drastically, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
In the 2015 PISA evaluation, Tunisia ranked 66th out of 70 participating countries and the majority of the participating students scored below the proficiency level one.
Source: TAP
Photo source: World Bank Photo Collection
