WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama is expected to flesh out his vision for education reform in a speech to Hispanic business leaders on Tuesday, a White House spokesman said.

Mr Obama will 'outline the beginnings of a reform agenda on education,' spokesman Robert Gibbs told journalists.

Addressing a key theme of his presidential campaign, Mr Obama will speak to US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, his first major address dedicated to education since taking office in January.

Mr Gibbs said Mr Obama would also talk about 'steps that he thinks that the administration and Congress can take together to improve our educational system for the 21st century.' Twenty per cent of the 32 million primary school students in the US are of Latin American origin, according to Census Bureau statistics released last week.

On the campaign trail Mr Obama had pledged to improve teachers' salaries and to make schooling more affordable.

In February, he used part of his maiden address to Congress to pledge increased education spending. He also called on 'every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training'. Despite having one of the world's most costly public education systems, the US posts mediocre results in international rankings.

According to figures from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development the annual cost of a primary education in the United States of around US$9,000 ($13,500). In France the cost is US$5,300 each year.

- AFP