Roseau, Dominica – February 18, 2008……Hundreds of primary school children in 
Dominica are set to benefit immensely from the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding last week between the Caribbean Centre of Excellence in Teacher Training ( C-CETT) and DHL.
The Caribbean Centre of Excellence in Teacher Training (C-CETT) project is an initiative of United States President, Mr. George W. Bush designed to address high rates of illiteracy and school underachievement in the region.
Established in 2002, the C-CETT project was launched last year in sixty-one primary schools here from grades 1-3.
As a result of the signing of the MOU at a ceremony at the Fort Young Hotel last week, DHL will provide the Caribbean CETT project with discounted rates in the shipment of various project materials to Caribbean countries. DHL will also adopt a school in each of the Caribbean CETT countries in which DHL has branches, including Dominica.
Even before the signing of the partnership agreement with DHL, the company has been partnering with C- CETT almost from the start of the project.
At the ceremony, Mr. James Goggin, Representative of USAID, Barbados also announced the provision by the United States Agency for International Development of a total of one hundred and twenty-seven (127) computers including twelve (12) lap tops with modern software installed. A 14-seater motor vehicle has also been provided for use exclusively in the Dominica CETT project.
At the ceremony mention was also made of Scholastic and Pearson for their shipment of books for the benefit of children in Dominica and the other participating Caribbean countries.
The Caribbean Centre of Excellence in Teacher Training project, now operational in sixty-one primary schools in Dominica has five components;
· In Service Training to improve teachers’ skills
· The development of diagnostic and assessment tools for teachers to evaluate and assess their students learning needs better
· The provision of teaching and learning materials focused on improving reading instructions in the classroom
· Applied research and evaluation to enhance the teacher training tools and materials
· Applying Information and Communication Technology to facilitate information sharing , tracking students performance and extend the reach of the CETT programme through distance learning and a web portal
The Caribbean CETT countries are the Commonwealth of Dominica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada.
Minister for Education Hon. Vince Henderson delivered an address at last week’s signing ceremony.
On November 28, 2007, the United States government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dominica government to provide US$1 million over two years to improve literacy on the island. (Ends)
