IDB to help Haiti

The Inter American Development Bank (IDB) says it plans to raise US$500 million for an overhaul of the Haitian education system.



The pledge was made during a meeting of the board of directors of the Interim Haitian Recovery Commission.



The IDB has been working on the plan with the Haitian education ministry, the Presidential Commission on Education and donors since the January 12 quake.



It says it would provide 250 million in grants from its own resources and seek to find an additional 250 million from non-traditional donors.



The cost of the 5-year pre-school-through-university plan is estimated at US$4.2 billion.



The plan calls for the construction of thousands of schools, the retraining of tens of thousands of teachers and tuition subsidies for all children in a new publicly funded education system.