Asunción, Agencia IP.- The World Bank ratified its support to the Government to improve education at all levels and contribute to strengthening early childhood. The Executive Branch compromised to focus on improving both aspects during the following years.
Those were the statements of Jaime Saavedra, Director of Human Development for Latin America and the Caribbean, and Matilde Bordón, World Bank Representative in Paraguay, after the meeting they held on past Tuesday with the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, in Mburuvicha Róga.
During the press conference, Saavedra said that the topics they approached were Paraguay’s challenges with education and early childhood. “It has been a fruitful meeting, which is very important. We are honoured to accompany Paraguay in the programs and priorities that are defining”, he expressed.
In that sense, he highlighted the determined political willpower to impulse the changes required in education and improve the attention to early childhood in the country.
Regarding education, they shared with the President that the existing challenges not only in Paraguay but in Latin America and the world, mainly about the learning levels, have fallen.
The learning crisis was accentuated during the pandemic due to COVID-19, and our country is facing the same issue, recognized Saavedra.
“There is a significant challenge in improving not only the access, but the education’s quality, and there is immense support from the President to intervene and improve the quality of the educational service children in Paraguay are receiving”, he claimed.
Another of the points topics spoken about is early childhood. Saavedra pointed out the necessity of integrating services for all children from 0 to 8 years old, from immunizations until cognitive development, positively impacting the education system.
The challenge is that attention to early childhood requires the contribution of many sectors, such as the health and education systems and different ministries and institutions, to provide an integral service coherent to all Paraguayan children, he indicated.
Likewise, Matilde Bordón said that the meeting was made to see ways for the World Bank to continue supporting initiatives and priorities of the Paraguayan Government.
“The President expressed to us his biggest compromise to advance his Government and focus the efforts on improving the universality of education and, above all, the quality of learning. It is there where we make ourselves available to support what the Government needs”, she finally mentioned.