December 4, El Salvador (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Mr. CARDONA ALVARENGA Hermelindo Ricardo et al.), Guatemala, Honduras (Ministry of Education Ms. MENJIVAR VIDEZ, Gloria Udelfa et al.) paid courtesy visit to the President MAKINO Hirofumi.

Educators came to Japan to participated in the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)’s Knowledge Co-Creation Program on Improvement of quality of mathematics education in primary and secondary education, 2019 at Okayama University for about one week starting December 2. President Makino explained the SDGs activities that Okayama University is working on, and introduced that this training led to the goal 4 of SDGs, “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all,’’ and said, “I hope you will continue to use what you learn in this training even after you return to your country,” encouraging trainees.

This training has been conducted every year since 2016, and this is the fourth time. In the first phase of the last three years, training has been provided for teacher educators in arithmetic and mathematics education to improve teachers’ teaching skills and promote student-centered classes. This year, the first year of the second phase (for three years), is aimed at education policy makers, including the Ministry of Education, and it is expected that educational activities in each country will further develop.