Although progress has been made, are different variables not being taken into consideration?
Many Latin-American countries entered the new millennium reaffirming their will of fulfilling the goals of the Millennial Development of the United Nations. ¿How was this reflected in the Latin-American educational development? Since the year 2000, a progressive pattern was clearly stablished regarding the budget that said countries were allocating to basic education coverage; this was, perhaps, the most important achievement between the year 2000 to 2010.
However, several reports made by CEPAL point out that within the region, educational levels are still too low in comparison to the educational development of the rest of the world; they are also disappointing in regards to the standards that are placed by the market and the globalization dynamics.
It was established that school desertion within Latin America would be the main obstacle for obtaining an equitable and efficient educational system. Therefore, while Europe and North America are moving forward into the universalization of basic education, in the region, there is evidence, especially in rural zones, of a high number of children and adolescents abandoning the school system without obtaining a minimum knowledge of basic information needed to adequately integrate themselves into society
This aspect makes us wonder about the importance of quality in the construction of the relation between school and students. On the other hand, it is also possible to identify that in Latin America there is a higher abandonment rate in secondary school than in primary school, according to government sources. This allows one to understand the challenges in the region when it comes to education; most of the adolescents are faces with the dilemma of either going to school or start providing some sort of income for themselves and family.
Therefore, the main challenge for Latin-American education is to move forward in the development of public policies that may be inclusive and that understand that, in the first place, secondary school cannot remain regressive or as a subsequent option for kids that should continue their education. Also, it should be made clear that the situation and reality lived within the rural areas have a different dynamic when compared to schools within the main cities.
Latin American Post | Daniela Mendoza Trilleras
Copy edited by Susana Cicchetto