Key Peruvian Institutions Step forward to Support CETT

Peru's Minister of Education Javier Sota Nadal, U.S. Ambassador James Curtis Struble and Antamina's former CEO of Investments, Augusto Baertl (far right), visit CETT school in Peru.

On September 3rd, the Minister of Education of Peru, the Ambassador of the United States and a former Chief Executive of the nation's largest extraction company jointly visited a CETT elementary school in Ventanilla. Their purpose was to talk with the first, second and third grade children, to review the progress of the CETT program and to show that business and government should work together to give children the life skill of literacy.

Second grade students read stories and poems to their distinguished guests. U.S. Ambassador James Struble, Education Minister Javier Sota Nadal and Augusto Baertl, former Chief Executive of Compañía Minera Antamina, chatted with the children about their homes, family life and classroom experiences. "These are our children who are the future of our country," declared Mr. Baertl. "We are delighted to do our part in this important private-public partnership."

This high-profile visit highlighted the cause of child literacy in Peru, as well as demonstrated the commitments of the governments of Peru and the United States to improve the situation through public-private partnerships. The engagement of these nations’ leaders is vital to the children because studies have shown that less than half of all 15-year-old students in Peru achieve a functional level of reading comprehension—and only 1 in 10 children who finish the first grade can read or understand what they are reading.

Compañía Minera Antamina, S.A., a multinational company and operator of the world’s third largest copper and zinc mine located in Peru, will make a sizable donation over the next two years through its non-profit Ancash Association. Pluspetrol, an oil, gas and energy management firm, will make three annual donations in support of additional teachers, schools and children. Lima Tours, a leading travel agency, is adopting a CETT teacher training program for three years. The Fondo de las Americas, a leading Peruvian foundation, will contribute to the CETT program for two years.

The CETT program is reaching schools throughout Peru. The teacher training efforts, provided through the School of Education of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and USAID Peru, are helping students learn to read at higher levels and are giving teachers and principals the knowledge and tools they need. In the words of INMED’s Andean Region Director Eduardo Arrarte, who is a key catalyst in the creation of public-private partnerships, “We look forward to further collaborations and visits like the one in Ventanilla throughout Peru in the months and years ahead. As our ceremony demonstrated on September 3rd, education is everyone's business!"