DRAFT RESOLUTIONS PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO THE DRAFT PROGRAMME AND BUDGET FOR (35 C5) OUTLINE

Transcription

1 35 C 35 C/8 ED 2 October 2009 Original: English Item 4.2 of the provisional agenda DRAFT RESOLUTIONS PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO THE DRAFT PROGRAMME AND BUDGET FOR (35 C5) OUTLINE This document presents a summary of the amendments proposed by Member States to Major Programme I of the Draft Programme and Budget for (35 C/5), which are to be examined by the Education Commission, and the observations of the Director-General with regard to these amendments.

2 35 C/8 ED MAJOR PROGRAMME I EDUCATION Introduction Fifteen draft resolutions proposing amendments to Volume I of document 35 C/5 Rev. have been deemed admissible according to the procedures outlined in paragraphs 40 to 44 and Annex II of document 35 C/2 and are presented for consideration by the ED Commission. It is suggested that the draft amendments be considered in the order of the text of Volume I of document 35 C/5 Rev. Biennial sectoral priority 1: Supporting the achievement of Education for All in countries in need 1. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.18 (Colombia) seeks to amend paragraph (a)(i) by inserting in line 3 after the word advance the following: inclusion, equity and ; in line 9 after the word promote the word relevant ; and in line 11 after the word education the following:, especially for young people. The Director-General welcomes the objectives of these proposals and has no objections to the proposed amendments. 2. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.9 (Iran, Islamic Republic of) seeks to amend paragraph (a)(i) by inserting in line 11 after the word education the following: and entrepreneurship education in higher education. The financial implications of the resolution are estimated at US $150,000, which the proponent suggests should be taken from the regular programme budget of Major Programme I (BSP1: MLA1, MLA2 and MLA3) and extrabudgetary resources. No specific area of action within those set out in draft document 35 C/5 Rev. for Major Programme I that could undergo a budgetary reduction has been identified. The Director-General welcomes the spirit of this proposal, which aims to promote entrepreneurship education as a means of stimulating endogenous and sustainable economic development and to prepare for the world of work. He wishes to recall that entrepreneurship is recognized as one of the key areas of UNESCO s Strategy for TVET for , and that it is envisaged to undertake policy reviews in countries, among which countries in Asia and the Pacific. The Director- General will accommodate, to the extent possible, the proposed activities described in the explanatory note into the work plans, without an additional financial allocation or a shift in resources. Should the General Conference consider it necessary to make supplementary resources available, the Director-General will examine the possibility of mobilizing extrabudgetary resources for this purpose. In view of the above, the Director-General considers that it would be not necessary to make explicit reference to one specific area of TVET in this paragraph and therefore he would recommend to forego the adoption of the proposed amendment. 3. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.36 (Cuba) seeks to amend paragraph (a)(ii) by inserting at the end of the sub-paragraph: Holding the Seventh International Congress on Higher Education University 2010 co-sponsored by UNESCO, in Havana (Cuba), in order to find solutions to the

3 35 C/8 ED page 2 problem of lifelong education for all, thus confirming the renewed commitment of higher education to society and to its time, permitting the joint examination of all the participants of the changes that need to be made in higher education institutions so that they may play a decisive role in the sustainable development of our countries. The financial implication of this resolution is estimated at $50,000, which the proponent suggests should be absorbed within the funds allocated to Major Programme I. No specific area of action within those set out in draft document 35 C/5 Rev. for Major Programme I that could undergo a budgetary reduction has been identified. The Director-General supports the initiative of Cuba to organize an International Congress cosponsored by UNESCO. Indeed, this conference could serve as a welcome follow-up to the findings of the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education. The Director-General intends to request IESALC to provide support to this conference and, as necessary, he will seek to mobilize extrabudgetary resources. There is therefore no need for an additional budgetary allocation or a reallocation within available resources of $50,000. On this understanding, the Director-General would not object to the intent of the proposed amendment. However, he would not be in favour of making reference in the draft resolution to any particular event or activity beyond the generic and strategic approaches set out in the present text. Instead, the Director-General would seek to reflect the proposed International Conference in the final version of the narrative of Major Programme I, as appears in Volume 2 of 35 C/5 Rev. 4. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.19 (Colombia) seeks to amend paragraph (a)(ii) by inserting at the end of line 2/beginning of line 3, before the words and manage, the following:, strengthen. The Director-General has no objection to the adoption of this amendment. Biennial sectoral priority 2: Providing global and regional leadership in education 5. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.42 (Japan) seeks to amend paragraph (a)(iv) by inserting at the end of the paragraph, after the word education, the following text: The Organization will also strengthen worldwide networks in education, in particular the Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet). The Director-General welcomes the recognition of the crucial role of worldwide networks in education and the emphasis of the role of ASPnet. This amendment does not have any financial implications and is thus assumed to help highlight the visibility of the role of the worldwide networks in education, in particular the ASPnet. The Director- General wishes to point out that the role of the networks is well covered and described in Volume 2 of document 35 C/5 Rev, and in particular their contribution to the achievement of the results of MLA 2. The ASP Net is firmly anchored in this MLA and the achievement of expected result 6 makes already explicit reference to the role of ASPNet.

4 35 C/8 ED page 3 Thus, the Director-General sees no particular need to include the proposed amendment in the context of the global coordination of EFA and recommends that it not be retained. 6. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.20 (Colombia) seeks to amend paragraph (b)3 by inserting in line 1 after reformed the words and strengthened and in line 2 after skills the words relevant to. The Director-General has no objection to the adoption of these and strengthened but he feels that the second proposed amendment to insert the words relevant to would constrain the envisaged activities unduly. Hence, he does not favour this second amendment. Should part of the proposition be intended to amend and improve the Spanish version of expected result, the Secretariat will make the necessary adjustment. 7. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.74 (Egypt) seeks to amend paragraph (b) by inserting after Expected Result 4 a new Expected Result 5 containing the following text: 5. Policies and procedures for early childhood care strengthened and developed. The budgetary implications of this draft resolution are estimated at $100,000, with the proponent suggesting that the funds be taken from the budget of Major Programme I. No specific area of action within those set out in draft document 35 C/5 Rev. for Major Programme I that could undergo a budgetary reduction has been identified. The Director-General welcomes the keen interest shown by several Member States in developing and improving early childhood care and education (ECCE), which is Goal 1 of the Dakar Framework for Action. He fully supports the intentions of this draft resolution. However, he considers that the concerns of this draft resolution are already addressed in document 35 C/5 Rev. He notes in this regard that ECCE-related activities under Major Programme I will contribute to the achievement of the Expected Result 4, entitled National capacities strengthened in developing policies for early childhood care and education. The Director-General considers that the impact of the Organization s work on national education systems will be far greater and more sustainable if activities are targeted towards developing national capacities to design and renew policies. Moreover, he assures Member States that national capacity development in this regard will accompany the strengthening and development of national policies. The Director-General therefore does not consider it necessary to add the proposed new result, on the understanding that he will ensure that the activities proposed, which can be absorbed within the budgetary limits of draft document 35 C/5 Rev., are integrated in the workplans of document 35 C/5. 8. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.40 (United States of America) seeks to amend paragraph (b)7 by replacing the terms and quality assurance with the following:, quality assurance and ICT-enhanced learning content and materials such as open educational resources.

5 35 C/8 ED page 4 The Director-General welcomes the spirit of this proposal, which aims to follow-up on the communiqué of the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education and expand access to higher education learning and materials. He wishes to reassure Member States that UNESCO will support the deployment of open and distance learning and information and communication technologies (ICTs) mainly as part of its work on teachers (Main Line of Action 1, Expected Result 2), one of the three areas that has been identified as a priority area of action and building block for Education for All (see para of 35 C/5 Rev. Volume 2 and the performance indicators for Expected Result 2). Promoting open educational resources (OERs) will be a vital part of these activities. However, instead of amending the expected result, which the Director-General would not favour, he suggests instead that he would seek to reflect intent of the draft resolution in the final version of the narrative of Major Programme I, as appears in Volume 2 of document 35 C/5 Rev. The Director-General hopes that this would address sufficiently the concerns of the authors 9. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.55 (Uruguay, co-sponsored by Paraguay) seeks to amend paragraph (b)8 by inserting at the end of Expected Result 8, after situations, the following: and for the use of ICTs in education, thereby advancing social inclusion and promoting South-South and North-South cooperation. The financial implications of the resolution are estimated at $150,000, which the proponents suggest could be met through extrabudgetary resources or resources from the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE). The Director-General acknowledges the importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education and their potential role in advancing inclusion. He also congratulates the Government of Uruguay for the success it has recorded in its Educational connectivity and basic information technology for online plan (CEIBAL), as outlined in the explanatory note attached to the draft resolution, and welcomes its initiative to use this experience to contribute to similar initiatives in other developing countries. The Director-General wishes to remind Member States that the draft resolution for the IITE already foresees that the Institute will contribute to Expected Result 8 through its work on ICTs. He further notes that UNESCO will also promote ICTs as part of its priority area work on teachers (Main Line of Action 1, Expected Result 2). Moreover, the Director-General also feels that select emphasis on ICTs would favour one of the many aspects of sector-wide planning and hence he does not favour making an explicit reference to it in the Expected Result. In view of the above, the Director-General would not recommend the adoption of the proposed amendment. However, he takes note of the specific activity described in the explanatory note and will seek to integrate it within the work plans. Should the General Conference find it desirable to make additional resources available for this purpose, the Director-General would be ready to examine the possibility of mobilizing extrabudgetary resources. 10. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.52 (Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, France, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, Senegal, Tunisia) seeks to amend paragraph (b) by inserting an additional Expected Result 9 after Expected Result 8 containing the following text: 9. National capacities of Member States reinforced in order to ensure the quality and equity of their educational systems, particularly by stimulating the exchange of good practices. The attached explanatory note states that the aim of the draft resolution is to make explicit the importance of

6 35 C/8 ED page 5 quality and equity, and to underline that exchange of good practices is an essential element of capacity development. The Director-General fully agrees with the spirit of this amendment, and emphasizes that quality and equity are principles which permeate the entirety of UNESCO s action in education, the principal aim of Major Programme I being to promote and ensure quality and equity, as set out in UNESCO s Medium-Term Strategy for (34 C/4), overarching objective 1: Attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning. The Director-General wishes to draw attention to the fact that paragraphs (a)(i) and (ii) both make explicit references to equity and quality. Moreover, he would refer Member States to Volume 2 of draft document 35 C/5 Rev, in which numerous references to quality, equity and equality are made throughout the text. The Director-General further notes that the document Recommendations by the Executive Board on the draft programme and budget for (35 C/6) has already proposed the insertion of an additional paragraph to draft document 35 C/5 by which the Director-General would be requested to report annually to the governing bodies, in the statutory reports, on the follow-up to the four major international conferences in education (the 48th session of the International Conference on Education (ICE), the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, CONFINTEA VI [the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education], the World Conference on Higher Education), as well as meetings of the High-Level Group on EFA. He recalls that the need for improved inclusion, equity and quality in education were at the heart of the major recommendations of these conferences. If the General Conference decides to adopt the Executive Board s recommendation, specific reporting on the follow-up undertaken by UNESCO on the outcomes of the conferences would therefore be provided at yearly intervals and would reflect the progress made in the direction of greater equity and quality. In view of the above, it would be the intention of the Director-General to ensure that all actions undertaken by Major Programme I are designed in such a way as to promote equity and quality and therefore he does not recommend confining such fundamental principles in a separate expected result. Instead, he proposes to underline the importance of these notions with regard to the development and management of sector-wide education plans, and suggests inserting in paragraph (a)(iii) the following text at the end of the first sentence after as a whole under: and promote quality and equity as key aspects of their education systems. To clarify this matter further, the Director-General would suggest that this point would be more fully reflected in the final version of the narrative of Major Programme I, as appears in Volume 2 of document 35 C/5 Rev. The Director-General could not but agree that an exchange of good practices is one of many vital elements of capacity development. However, he feels that it would not be appropriate to highlight just one modality. He wishes to assure Member States that identification and exchange of good practices will be an important ongoing modality for UNESCO s action in education, as expressed in the many references to good practices set out in draft document 35 C/5 Rev, Volume 2 for Major Programme I. The Director-General thus feels that the proposed inclusion of principles underlying the draft resolution would better be placed in the text of paragraph (a)(iii). However, he does not consider it necessary to add a new expected result. 11. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.30 (France) seeks to amend paragraph (b) by inserting an additional Expected Result 11 after Expected Result 10 containing the following text: Deepen actions undertaken aiming to conserve the memory of the Holocaust and to combat all forms of

7 35 C/8 ED page 6 denials of this latter, in order to fight effectively against anti-semitism, particularly in young people, through education. The author of this draft resolution proposes that it be financed through extrabudgetary funding under the Special Account on Holocaust Remembrance. The Director-General welcomes the spirit of this initiative, which aims to underline the role of education in fighting anti-semitism and historical revisionism concerning the Shoah and UNESCO s actions in this regard. He reminds Member States that 34 C/Resolution 61 requested the Director-General to consult with the United Nations Secretary-General regarding the outreach programme, with a view to exploring, in consultation with Member States, what role UNESCO could play in promoting awareness of Holocaust remembrance through education and in combating all forms of Holocaust denial in accordance with the [relevant] United Nations General Assembly resolutions ; and further requested him to report on the results of this consultation and his recommendations to the Executive Board at its 180th session. The Director-General notes that he has fully responded to this Resolution, as set out in 180 EX/5 VII. He underlines that the consultations carried out with Member States and relevant organizations such as Yad Vashem determined that UNESCO s actions in the area of Holocaust education and education for anti-semitism would be most effective if it were concentrated on the following areas: 1. development of good practices in curricula and learning materials; 2. teacher training; and 3. outreach through creation of a web page outlining aspects of UNESCO s work in promoting Holocaust remembrance through education. In order to immediately begin work on this important area, an intersectoral Working Group on Holocaust Education has been established within UNESCO and is already conducting a number of successful activities, including in basic, secondary and higher education as well as education in non-formal settings linked to the three areas set out above. A Special Account has also been created. Delegations interested in obtaining a report on the results achieved to date should contact the Secretariat. In order to continue this work, and recognizing that actions in the field of curriculum development, production of learning materials and teacher training are located in draft document 35 C/5 Rev under MLA 2 and MLA 1, the Director-General wishes to inform Member States that, as set out in document 35 C/Rev., Volume 2, paragraph 1035, UNESCO will undertake actions to promote human rights, peace, tolerance and responsibility among young people within the framework of its regular programme primarily through MLA 2, Expected Result 6 on secondary education. This will include activities linked to education against anti-semitism and on the Holocaust, as proposed by the draft resolution, and will ensure that related schemes such as the Associated School Project network (ASPnet) continue to play a strong role in carrying them out. Activities on teacher education (MLA 1, Expected Result 2) and on basic education (MLA 2, Expected Result 5) may also include a component linked to Holocaust education. Hence, the Director-General considers that these activities are already integrated and reflected in the draft programme and budget for and are therefore planned to be carried out in the coming biennium. In order to increase the visibility of these activities in document 35 C/5, the Director-General would seek to reflect the concern of the sponsor by inserting an additional performance indicator under Expected Result 6: Good practices in curricula and learning materials on Holocaust education published, which would be financed through extrabudgetary funding as requested by the Draft Resolution. Furthermore, he would amend in the final version of the

8 35 C/8 ED page 7 narrative of Major Programme I, as appears in Volume 2 of document 35 C/5 Rev., by making explicit reference to the work of the intersectoral Working Group on Holocaust Education. In addition to this, the 14 expected results under Major Programme I have been designed in such a way as to focus on major areas of education rather than on specific topics. Creating a separate expected result would therefore not only produce an artificial separation between the levels of education and Holocaust-related activities, but also diminish the coherence of reporting under the Regular Programme. Moreover, in line with requests made by the Member States calling for greater programmatic focus and strict compliance with the results-based management (RBM) principles, the Director-General has made a considerable effort to reduce the number of expected results for Major Programme I compared to document 34 C/5. He would therefore warn against increasing the number and formulation of expected results as set out in document 35 C/5 Rev. In view of the above, the Director-General considers that it would be inadvisable to create an additional expected result. 12. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.21 (Colombia) seeks to amend paragraph (b)11 by inserting at the end of line 2 after partners the following: and stronger support for the regional initiatives/networks that serve as policy platforms and for their action plans. The explanatory note attached to the draft resolution states that the purposes of the draft resolution are 1) to ensure that all Member States may obtain assistance from UNESCO in its areas of mandate, and 2) to obtain UNESCO s support for a regional action plan on higher education for Latin America and the Caribbean. The Director-General considers that the regional groupings that serve as policy platforms and with which UNESCO cooperates are vital tools for promoting the achievement of the EFA goals. The Regional Education Project for Latin America and the Caribbean (PRELAC) is a successful example of such a platform. Responding to the aim of the proposed amendment as set out in the explanatory note, the Director-General wishes to reassure Member States that although UNESCO s priority region is Africa, the Organization works in all regions of the world. Thus, strategy documents such as UNESCO s Strategy on TVET clearly state that geographical distribution will be respected in selecting countries for policy review (see 182 EX/INF.5, para. 7). Furthermore, the Organization s assistance responds to needs identified by the Member States and/or regions concerned. It should be emphasized that in the context of the follow-up to the World Conference on Higher Education, UNESCO through the Regional Bureau for Education in Santiago and IESALC plans to integrate support for a regional action plan on higher education in its work plans. Moreover, the Director-General also wishes to draw attention to the fact that draft document 35 C/5 Rev., Volume II, paragraph states: Cooperation will also be strengthened with regional groupings that serve as policy platforms, such as the African Union (AU), the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and the Regional Education Project for Latin America and the Caribbean (PRELAC), as well as other groupings of countries such as the E-9, to catalyze cooperation towards achieving the EFA goals. For these reasons, the Director-General considers that the principles underlying the draft amendment and the explanatory note are already incorporated into the sub-paragraph. However, he has no objection to the proposed insertion but would in such case suggest that it be rephrased to read: and enhanced cooperation with the regional groupings that serve as policy platforms.

9 35 C/8 ED page Draft resolution 35 C/DR.41 (United States of America) seeks to amend paragraph (b)13 by inserting in line 2 after Development (DESD) the following text: and the United Nations Literacy Decade. The Director-General welcomes the spirit behind this proposal, which aims to strengthen UNESCO s important role as coordinator of the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD). He wishes to recall that in preparing draft document 35 C/5, he has deliberately regrouped all literacy actions of Major Programme I, including work related to the UNLD, under Main Line of Action 1, and contributing to Expected Result 1. He has done this in order to highlight the role of literacy as a building block for EFA and to ensure a smooth linkage between the different levels and types of actions. Separating actions undertaken within the framework of the UNLD and country-level activities by inserting a reference to the UNLD in Expected Result 13 will dilute the programmatic coherence and the strategic focus on the priority areas of action, and would likely create difficulties for monitoring and reporting on UNESCO s action in favour of literacy. The Director-General would also like to inform Member States that a comprehensive strategy for UNESCO s work in literacy is currently being developed and will be available in early In this context, the Director-General feels that any approach to separate the UNLD function from other literacy-related actions would be inadvisable. For these reasons, the Director-General does not recommend the adoption of the proposed amendment. 14. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.54 (Thailand; co-sponsored by Argentina, Bulgaria, Congo, Ecuador, Italy, Kuwait, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Poland, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) seeks to amend paragraph (b) by inserting after Expected Result 14 a new Expected Result 15 containing the following text: 15. Take into account the goal of the World Declaration on Education for All (Jomtien 1990) to meet the basic learning needs including a renewed commitment to universalizing access and promoting equity, a completion of the overall commitments and goals. The Director-General acknowledges the importance of the World Declaration on Education for All that emerged from the World Conference on Education for All held in March 1990 in Jomtien, Thailand and its accompanying Framework for Action. The Director-General reminds Member States that the vision outlined in the Declaration was reaffirmed at the World Education Forum held in April 2000 in Dakar, Senegal, which adopted the Dakar Framework for Action that sets out six concrete goals for achieving Education for All (the EFA goals ). The EFA goals set in 2000 in Dakar therefore represent an expanded vision and renewed commitment by Member States to the principles outlined in the World Declaration on Education for All (1990) adopted in Jomtien. The Expected Results for Major Programme I set out in draft document 35 C/5 Rev. are carefully designed so as to maximize UNESCO s contribution to achieving these goals. An additional separate Expected Result, as formulated by the authors, would detract from the strong focus on achieving the EFA goals that is present throughout the text and diminish reporting coherence. The Director-General further wishes to remind Member States that in line with requests made by the Member States calling for greater programmatic focus and strict compliance with the resultsbased management (RBM) principles, he has made a considerable effort to reduce the number of Expected Results for Major Programme I compared to document 34 C/5. He therefore does not

10 35 C/8 ED page 9 consider it desirable to increase the number and formulation of Expected Results as set out in document 35 C/5 Rev. The Director-General wishes to reassure Member States that the spirit of the draft resolution has been fully reflected in draft document 35 C/5 Rev. for Major Programme I, Volumes 1 and 2. Consequently, he does not consider it necessary to add the new proposed expected result. In order to underline the historical importance of the Jomtien World Conference on Education for All, the Director-General suggests instead that a reference to it be made in Volume 2 of draft document 35 C/5 Rev. 15. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.42 (Japan) seeks to amend paragraph (b) by inserting after Expected Result 14 a new Expected Result 15 containing the following text: ASPnet worldwide strengthened as an excellent resource to ensure and enhance the visibility of UNESCO through education. The Director-General refers to his comments on Draft Resolution 42 above. He wishes to point out that draft document 35 C/5 Rev. has brought focus to the impact of ASPnet on national education systems by establishing a clear link between UNESCO s specific work on the network and its overall work on basic and in particular secondary education. Thus, most ASPnet-related actions will contribute to the achievement of Expected Result 6 linked to secondary education. Indeed, the third performance indicator under this result is: Number of relevant research studies successfully completed and results disseminated, including through ASPnet, while the narrative text (para , draft 35 C/5) states that ASPnet will help in identifying examples of good practice [in secondary education] and promoting them. Moreover, ASPnet will also contribute to UNESCO s work at the level of basic education. The Director-General further wishes to remind Member States that in line with requests made by the Member States calling for greater programmatic focus and strict compliance with the resultsbased management (RBM) principles, he has made a considerable effort to reduce the number of Expected Results for Major Programme I compared to document 34 C/5. He therefore does not consider it desirable to increase the number and formulation of Expected Results as set out in document 35 C/5 Rev. For these reasons, the Director-General feels that adding a separate Expected Result on ASPnet may dilute the impact of the network on secondary and basic education systems worldwide, and is therefore not in favour of the proposed amendment. Draft resolution for the International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) 16. Draft resolution 35 C/DR.3 (Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Cuba, Dominican Republic and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)) seeks to amend paragraph by inserting a new sub-paragraph (i) containing the following text: its institutional strengthening and consolidation, in close collaboration with the Santiago-based UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean ; and paragraph by replacing the figure of $2,000,000 with that of $2,200,000. The budgetary implications of this draft resolution are $200,000, with the proponents suggesting that the funds be taken from the budget of Major Programme I and extrabudgetary funds. No

11 35 C/8 ED page 10 specific area of action within those set out in draft document 35 C/5 Rev. for Major Programme I that could undergo a budgetary reduction has been identified. The Director-General has no objection to the insertion of the first amendment (insertion of its institutional strengthening and consolidation, in close collaboration with the Santiago-based UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean ). Indeed, he notes that draft document 35 C/5 Rev. aims to strengthen the role of IESALC as an implementation arm of Major Programme I, while maintaining its autonomy. Regarding the second amendment which entails additional funding of $200,000, the Director- General wishes to point out that the total share of all Major Programme I regular funds for Latin America and the Caribbean remains the same between the present and the forthcoming biennia, with a nominal increase of $723,500 for the region in draft document 35 C/5. Moreover, the only existing regional institute to receive an increase in its regular budget is IICBA, in order to reinforce its role in the Teacher Training Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa in draft document 35 C/5. He also notes that Latin America and the Caribbean is the only region that benefits from a regional UNESCO Institute on higher education. Given the above, the Director-General is not in favour of the adoption of the proposed budgetary amendment. He would, however, explore the possibility of mobilizing extrabudgetary funds to support the work of IESALC. Should the General Conference nonetheless decide to approve the proposed amendment, and in order to respect the geographical distribution of the budget of Major Programme I presented in the 35 C/5 Rev. document endorsed by the 182nd session of the Executive Board, the Director- General would recommend responding to this request by reallocating funds from the regular programme activity budget of the Latin America and the Caribbean region to IESALC. [35 C/5 Rev., para ] Printed on recycled paper