Skip navigation
sponsored by 

Foundations seek to improve education

Gates, Hewlett foundations focus on developing nations in Asia, Africa

Video: Education  
Bed bugs in some Midwestern colleges
Nov. 20: Infestations of blood sucking bed bugs have been discovered at college campuses in Missouri and Kansas, upsetting students who live in overrun dorms. KSHB's Russ Ptacek reports.

  Economy in Turmoil
Gut Check America

What should be atop Barack Obama's "to do" list when he takes office in January? Click here to share your opinion.

  Photo features  
  More
Home Destroyed In Lincoln Fire
Zuma Press
  The Week in Pictures
Devastating fires, smuggled cows and brutal injuries, see photos from around the globe
Image: Displaced Afghan child
Reuters
PhotoBlog
View and discuss the pictures and issues that caught our eyes.
  Your weather

Click to see the weather outlook for your destination

updated 3:57 a.m. ET Dec. 18, 2006

SEATTLE - Two of the nation’s largest charitable foundations announced plans Monday to work together to improve education in developing countries in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $40 million grant to the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which in turn would add another $20 million toward their collaboration.

Much work has already been done by other groups to boost school attendance in Africa and South Asia, so the foundations plan to focus on improving the quality of education these children receive.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

Despite efforts to improve teacher training and to give kids food and health care, millions remain illiterate in these regions, even those who are attending school, Hewlett president Paul Brest said.

The $40 million grant to the Hewlett Foundation would mostly likely be a one-time award, because the Gates Foundation has no plans to create a global education program, officials said.

The Hewlett Foundation is adding global education to its portfolio, Brest said.

Brest said the Hewlett Foundation made its first grants in global education about three years ago — mostly to pay for preliminary research — but the foundation’s board recently voted to explore a bigger commitment.

“We are looking for signs that we can develop pilot programs that have a good chance of being brought to scale by governments,” Brest said.

The foundations — which have collaborated before on U.S. education reform and global development — would be looking for other partners, including governments and organizations such as The World Bank, said Sylvia Mathews, president of the Gates Foundation’s Global Development Program. But she said it was too early to say who these might be.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links

Resource guide