- Minority education initiatives benefit from Federal funding offered by Obama
- Posted By:
- Jamie K
- Posted On:
- 27-Oct-2010
-
This election season, our President is striving hard to push education and give it top billing. In keeping with this effort, he reached out to the Hispanics last week. On October 19th, the Obama administration signed an executive order that extends the much required funding for Hispanics as a part of the recent educational policy campaign.
The address was delivered by the President at the White House East Room in the presence of Javier Garcia, a seventh grade Latino student from Texas. According to Obama, those who knew best were approached for answers by this initiative that included people spanning all communities around the country.
Former President George W. Bush started this initiative at least two decades ago. Obama administration today seeks to bridge a gap in Hispanic Americans educational achievement apart from providing funds for sub initiatives.
President Obama concentrated on highlighting the wide chasm between our country’s educational attainments as compared to the other developing nations around the world. He pointed out that America has fallen drastically from the first place to the ninth in the world in college completion rates in just one generation.
Latino students form the majority of low performing schools and they have been hugely affected by this, he said. He said that students who did manage to get into college found that they are not prepared for the rigorous schedules.
According to the White House initiative director Juan Sepulveda, this executive order will restore America’s supremacy in the field of education apart from benefiting the Hispanic students. He said that this new executive order will make America competitive in the global economy.
Our President pointed out that according to the disturbing statistics, problem exists in the field of education all over the country and if the current trends continue, the entire nation will fall behind, not just a few communities.
Making changes to the existing program framework that facilitates strategic partnerships between industries and schools, the executive order signed by the President also provides new funding.
The application of this initiative will be overseen by a presidential committee approved by the administration.
President Obama said that he will strive to once again establish America as the world leader in education by the year 2020 and he plans to do this by making higher education affordable to all students. This he proposes to achieve by eliminating giveaways offered to students by the loan industry.
He reasserted that it is an economic imperative, not just a moral obligation to provide our students with world class education, regardless of their race. This is the only way we can succeed in the 21st century, he said.
Other programs on the administration’s educational agenda include early childhood program expansion and sprucing up the underperforming educational institutions. Our President also expressed support for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act before signing the order.
This act aims at benefiting the minors brought into our country illegally by providing them with an opportunity to become citizens. For this, they must offer two years of service in armed forces or attend a higher education institution for two years.