Education in Haiti

歌曲 Education in Haiti
歌手 英语听力
专辑 VOA慢速英语:教育报道

歌词

[00:00.00] From VOA Learning English,
[00:02.01] this is the Education Report.
[00:04.97] Haiti is among the poorest nations in the world,
[00:08.83] only about half the children in the country
[00:11.73] go to primary school.
[00:13.73] And the United Nations children's agency UNICEF says,
[00:18.65] fewer than 25 percent attend secondary school.
[00:23.31] Many Haitian schools are in poor condition.
[00:26.87] They lack running water and dependable electricity.
[00:31.70] The United States Institute of Peace
[00:34.26] has called the education system in Haiti "dysfunctional",
[00:38.56] it says reforms and financial assistance are badly needed.
[00:43.05] Last week, U.S. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan
[00:47.54] visited Haiti to discuss its education system.
[00:51.64] He met with Haitian President Michel Martelly.
[00:55.19] Mr Martelly was elected in 2011,
[00:58.59] he is working on his campaign promise
[01:01.45] to make education required and free of charge for every child.
[01:07.41] Mr Duncan announced that the U.S. Agency
[01:10.76] for International Development(USAID) will invest
[01:13.97] millions of dollars to improve Haiti's education system.
[01:18.72] The agency will invest the money through its Room to Learn program,
[01:24.23] a program seeks to increase equality in opportunities for education.
[01:30.22] Mr Duncan said the United States
[01:33.07] will also provide technical assistance to Haiti's Education Ministry.
[01:38.83] The American Education Secretary spoke
[01:42.24] with VOA's Creole Service after he returned to the U.S.
[01:47.09] He said Haitian lawmakers are considering legislation
[01:51.06] that would expand funding for education.
[01:54.06] He said that if the measure passes,
[01:56.51] the law would be hugely important.
[01:59.51] Mr Duncan talked about his visits to several schools in Haiti,
[02:04.28] these included a school for children who live on the street.
[02:08.84] Mr Duncan praised the students for their courage
[02:12.63] and their efforts to gain a better life.
[02:15.39] "To hear their stories of why they are working so hard,
[02:18.25] and why they want to get off the streets
[02:20.79] - I'll never forget it," said Duncan.
[02:23.46] Mr Duncan noted that many children lost parents in the 2010 earthquake.
[02:30.12] Another school he visited had 110 students in a single classroom.
[02:36.34] He also said it is very rare for Haitian school to have computers.
[02:42.09] However, he said most students are able to get a meal at school.
[02:47.45] For many, that is their only meal of the day.
[02:50.86] In his interview with the Creole Service,
[02:54.27] Mr Duncan also talked about language use in Haitian schools.
[02:59.27] The country has two official languages - Creole and French.
[03:05.27] Most Haitians speak Creole but most schools use French.
[03:11.16] Mr Duncan said he believes this situation
[03:14.30] is difficult for children who learn Creole at home.
[03:17.80] "And I think that for other challenges students are facing,
[03:22.23] when their teacher speaking a different language from use,
[03:26.35] that can be pretty hard," said Duncan.
[03:27.98] He praised an experimental program
[03:30.88] that teaches reading in Creole in about 300 schools.
[03:35.88] Mr Duncan also noted the importance of having good data to help schools.
[03:42.01] He said there is a need for collecting more basic information
[03:46.14] like the number of schools, the number of teachers
[03:49.68] and how the student are progressing.
[03:52.17] And that's the Education Report from VOA Learning English.
[03:57.25] I'm Avi Arditti.