PARAGUAY: ENGLISH WORKS - MICRO-SCHOLARSHIPS PILOT

UNCLAS ASUNCION 000553

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PD FOR KHUGHES
NAIROBI FOR MICHAEL FITZPATRICK
WHA/PD FOR NEIL KLOPFENSTEIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PA SCUL
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY: ENGLISH WORKS - MICRO-SCHOLARSHIPS PILOT
PROGRAM POPULAR



1. Summary: Embassy Asuncion,s home-grown
micro-scholarship program to put underprivileged high school
kids in Bi-National Center English language programs is
effusively received by all sectors of society. Post
encourages Undersecretary Hughes to support funding to
continue and expand similar programs, as well as build
essential English teaching capacity in response to
overwhelming demand. End Summary.


2. Micro-scholarships With Mega-Impact: With the
Department,s renewed emphasis on English language as a PD
tool, Embassy Asuncion and WHA/PD have seized the moment to
launch new programs. On May 30, Asuncion officially began
its pilot English Language Micro-Scholarships project
providing 60 exceptional, underprivileged 13 and 14-year olds
three years of continued, intensive English language training
at our local Bi-National cultural center. A sweet financial
deal with the Bi-National Center brought in tuition at less
than USD 200 per student per year. This program will prepare
kids to compete for scholarship and exchange programs in the
U.S., and will help Paraguay participate more fully in the
globalized economy. Working with more than three-dozen NGOs,
churches and civic groups, post gathered applicants mostly
from marginal communities in and around the capital. The
response was overwhelming despite a relatively low-key
outreach announcement, with almost 500 applicants for the
envisioned 50 scholarship slots. Reaction to this embassy
initiative from all sectors of society - from ruling party
Brahmins to bitterly critical journalists - has been
uniformly effusive. One skeptical journalist looked at the
list winners, names and home communities with wide-eyed
wonder: "you actually got kids from the neediest
neighborhoods!" he exclaimed in visible disbelief.


3. Plea for more English language program funding: ECA,s
English ACCESS Micro-scholarships program is perfectly suited
for Paraguay where our local partners can offer classes at a
fraction of the cost elsewhere. The program creates
tremendous goodwill with the public, and has an absolutely
transformative impact on those under-served young people who
benefit. Having launched the pilot program, Asuncion can
confirm the high level of demand, the human and financial
resources required, and the positive public diplomacy impact
micro-scholarships can garner. Post requests the Department
consider WHA/PD and Paraguay in particular as a priority area
for FY 2007 ACCESS English funding. This is a rare
opportunity when a modest amount of USG dollars can help a
large number of needy and deserving youngsters while
promoting our strategic goals.


4. Students Need Teachers: Infrastructure limitations: The
popular clamor for similar programs lays bare a supply side
scarcity of qualified English teachers. Public sector
English teachers often lack what we would consider basic
language proficiency, and leading English teaching
institutions are challenged to find and hire qualified
teachers. Post has in place a robust English teaching
capacity-building program, using ECA program elements such as
English Language Fellows and Specialists, workshops,
materials and more. That said,the need for more resources in
this area remains critical. While the principal prerequisite
for expanding the Micro-scholarships program is greater
funding, the need to identify and train new teachers is an
integral component. Capacity-building both in terms of
teaching English teachers and reinforcing Bi-National centers
would pay large dividends for U.S. interests.
CASON