This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS DJIBOUTI 001257 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF AND AF/E 
STATE PASS USAID 
NAIROBI FOR REDSO DIRECTOR ANDREW SISSON 
LONDON/PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID SCUL PREL PGOV DJ
SUBJECT: INAUGURATION OF FIVE USG-FUNDED PEDAGOGIC RESOURCE 
CENTERS IN DJIBOUTI 
 
 
1.(U) On December 19 in Dikhil, one of Djibouti's five 
Districts, Ambassador, Nairobi-based Regional Economic 
Development Services Office (REDSO) Director Andrew Sisson, 
and Minister of Education Abdi Ibrahim Absieh formally 
inaugurated five pedagogic resource centers for Djibouti. 
The centers -- one for each District -- are built and 
equipped with USD 750,000 in U.S. Government funding through 
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 
Joining in the inaugural ceremony were Minister of Women's 
Affairs, Aicha Robleh, REDSO Limited Presence Country 
Director Andrew Karas, USAID Djibouti Representative Janet 
Schulman, USAID staff, the Dikhil District Acting 
Commissioner, representatives from the Combined Joint Task 
Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) based at Camp Lemonier, 
Ministry of Education officials, and community 
representatives. 
 
¶2. (U) In remarks at the inaugural ceremony, REDSO Director 
discussed several services that can be rendered by the 
resource centers.  He said they captured best practices from 
other African countries and should contribute to a better 
understanding of education reform policy.  In addition to 
improving management and quality of education services, the 
project will also support the education system's 
decentralization effort.  Ambassador, speaking next, 
expressed the U.S. vision of education as an essential 
building block of democracy, freedom and human rights.  She 
shared her expectations that school directors, teachers and 
others involved in education will have the opportunity to use 
the centers at their convenience and receive the necessary 
training to take full advantage of their many services.  She 
also underlined the need to make sure the facilities are well 
managed and maintained.  In his turn, the Minister of 
Education expressed gratitude to the American people for the 
contribution of the Pedagogic Centers and his expectation of 
continued U.S. support.  Following up on Ambassador's 
remarks, he urged school administrators to ensure efficient 
management of the centers. 
 
¶3. (U) For the past two and one half years, the U.S. 
Government, through USAID, has closely partnered with the 
Government of the Republic of Djibouti in a wide-ranging 
education reform effort.  Central to this effort is improved 
capacity among Ministry of Education personnel to manage and 
implement reform.  To do so, greater access to information, 
communication and material resources are needed.  School 
directors, teachers and others require a ready means to learn 
to communicate easily with their peers and to create their 
own resources to support implementation of reform in schools 
and classrooms.  The ultimate beneficiaries are the more than 
100,000 children in primary and middle schools in Djibouti 
and the country's 1,500 teachers, inspectors, school system 
directors and Education Ministry staff. 
 
¶4. (U) Each center has facilities for training, a library and 
reading room, and a computer room with modern tools for 
research, communications and materials creation.  USAID is 
working with the  Ministry of Education to train school 
inspectors, pedagogic advisors and school directors, who in 
turn will train teachers at local levels. With these centers, 
USAID has assured the Education Ministry that all primary 
school teachers and administrators will be trained by the end 
of the 2006 academic year. 
RAGSDALE