VOA常速英语2007年-Educators Analyze Progress in UN Development Go

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
11 December 2007

Education officials and donors¹ are meeting with representatives of international organizations this week in Senegal to discuss plans and progress towards the U.N. Millennium² Development goal of universal primary education by 2015.  Halfway³ through the allotted⁴ years, participants say important progress has been made, but some education lobbyists say funding and political will fall far short.  Naomi Schwarz has more from Dakar.

In 2000, when the United Nations and world leaders made universal primary education one of their eight millennium development goals, more than 100 million children were not in school.  They aimed to bring that number down to zero by 2015. 

This week, marking the halfway point, ministers, donors, and others are meeting in Dakar to assess their progress.

Ronald Siebes is co-president of the U.S-based Fast Track Initiative, an organization aimed at channeling extra funding from partners including the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Union to the poorest countries to help them achieve the education goals.

"We are really making progress," he said.  "There are huge challenges, but progress is being made to achieve this important goal."

After a slow start in the 32 countries funded by the Fast Track Initiative, their annual report says by 2010 most will have 100 percent of kids start first grade.

An official with the same organization, Desmond Bermingham, says countries in West Africa, whether funded by the Fast Track Initiative or not, are making progress.

"I would say the most critical issue is that the governments are making education a priority," he said.  "It is a political will issue and they are really making very rapid progress.  They have got a lot of catching⁵ up to do.  They are moving faster than any region has ever moved before."

But he says part of the reason is that West Africa had the farthest to go. In some countries in the region, more than three-quarters of school-age children do not attend school.

Bermingham says several countries are putting measures in place to block corruption⁶ in the education sector⁷, rampant⁸ in many African countries.

"Where it is working really well is where there is a very short accountability line between the school and the parents," he noted⁹.  "They have a really strong interest in making sure the money is used properly.  Several countries are now introducing systems of publishing the school budget in the newspaper or even on the door of the school.  Uganda is one of them, Kenya is one of them, and Niger has introduced a similar system."

But Lucia Fry, of the South Africa-based Global Campaign for Education, says if progress continues at the current pace, it will be impossible to meet the development goals by 2015.

She says aid falls far short of what is needed.

"Overall, we need another $6 billion U.S. per year just to get every child to complete a primary cycle of education," she explained.

And she says too much emphasis is being put on enrolling¹⁰ kids in school without ensuring that they stay long enough to finish.

"Although primary enrollment¹¹ has risen we have also got in 50 countries worldwide, less than half of all children worldwide complete primary school," she added.

And she says there is still a long way to go to address the needs of children on the margins¹², including those with handicaps, who live in conflict zones, or who work to support their families.

1 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

3 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

4 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。

5 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 enrolling   

v.招收( enrol的现在分词 )；吸收；入学；加入；[亦作enrol]( enroll的现在分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They lashed out at the university enrolling system. 他们猛烈抨击大学的招生制度。 来自辞典例句
• You're enrolling in a country club, Billy. 你是注册加入乡村俱乐部了，比利。 来自辞典例句

11 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

12 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。