Colombia’s new Minister of Education announced a new plan to end illiteracy, as part of the government’s mid-term goal of making Colombia the most educated in Latin America by 2025, according to an official press statement.
The announcement was made by the newly appointed Minister of Education Gina Parody at a meeting held by President Santos for his new cabinet, according to a press release from the government.
“We want Colombia to be a country free of illiteracy, because today we still have 2 million illiterate people,” she said.
In the announcement, Parody revealed the three plans the government will launch to end illiteracy.
“First, for the 30% of Colombian youth who attend schools that only use classrooms in the morning, many of them in rural areas, we will begin by increasing the use of classrooms, hiring new teachers, and providing more food.”
“Second: We are launching a special technology program for tenth graders. In Colombia, the majority of dropouts occur in the tenth grade, so that is where we will make sure to have excellent teachers and tutors in all regions of the country. Third, we will construct new schools,” she said.
Many of Colombia’s poorest rural schools still struggle with basic needs, including access to electricity. According to data by the Organizacion de Estados Iberomericanos, 4,445 schools, or 30% of the nation’s total, operate without electricity.
MORE: Government program aims to bring internet access to Colombia’s poorest families
Sources
- Gobierno afirma que la meta es que en el 2018 no haya analfabetismo en Colombia (Colombia presidential press release)
- Luces Para Aprender (Colombia)