The only pedestrian bridge that has an elevator in Chapinero, Bogota’s most exclusive district, stands in front of the no less selected Nueva Granada International School. It is a paradoxical fact for many to consider the collapse of the platforms in much more congested areas where pedestrians may be in a hurry than a few students.
The Nueva Granada Bridge is a black glass structure 152 meters long. The cost of its construction was 340,000 euros, executed with private resources collected by the bilingual school community, a sign of the institution’s power to welcome the children of U.S. diplomats, former presidents and other wealthy actors into Colombian society. But it is also a silent reflection of the socio-economic asymmetry that characterizes one of the most unequal countries in the world, according to the Seventh World Bank.
In Colombia, children from high- and middle-income families go from day care to private centers, while battered public education, free and compulsory for ten years, welcomes low-grade students. The pattern is repeated throughout life at university and later in the job market.
School segregation rates are one of the highest in Latin America. This shows the work of Spanish teacher Javier Murillo, Director of the Department of Social Justice Education at the Autonomous University of Madrid. “Several important studies,” he explains, “indicate that the segregation of schools based on the socio-cultural characteristics of children affects not only the learning process, but also their general education.” “And it has the effect of ultimately creating a less just and less just society.”
One of the peculiarities of Colombia’s case compared to other countries, Murillo argues, is that segregation is found at both ends of the social scale. The economic-based distribution, on the one hand, has contributed to what is known in Spain as ghetto schools, which occur when more than 50% of the students in the institution come from low-income families. Similarly, at the other end of the social scale, private and elite centers for the rich are proliferating.
Fractures are multifaceted and develop at different levels. All the studies that have been consulted indicate, for example, that girls from rural ethnic groups suffer the most. Moise Wasserman, a former rector of the National University and a doctor of biochemistry, notes that poverty is “feminized” and warns: “But let us not forget the fact that we are talking not about numbers but about people who have fundamental rights. Rejected at a time when it’s supposed to be unimaginable. ”
According to a 2009 survey of teachers in Bogota, the school department has reached the point where most of the teachers in the Colombian Educators Federation (Fecode), a strong union in the education sector, do not even send their children to formal schools. . We must remember that the already mentioned black holes are added in terms of quality to the social and cultural discredit of the Colombian public sphere.
Mauricio Garcia Villegas, a doctor of political science and professor at the National University, describes it as “educational apartheid”. While it is clear that the first party responsible for guaranteeing the right to education is the state, the axis of its thesis includes other actors as well. In a recently published book with two other researchers under the title Fifth Gate Describes the vicious circle generated by government inefficiency, the distrust it inflicts on the wealthy classes, and finally the political and economic disinterest in promoting the preservation and appropriation of public goods.
The issue was resolved by the elites through the privatization of almost everything that was available to them. From transport, to hospitals, sports centers, parks, libraries, to safety and elevator bridges. Garcia Villegas argues that it is impossible to raise children with firm principles of fairness and equality in a school environment that avoids the coexistence of students of different cultural, ethnic or social backgrounds.
Among the top 100 best scores obtained by schools in the SABER 11 tests, 98 in terms of selectivity correspond to private centers, while only two are on the list, according to 2020 data. Also results in international tests such as the PISA, where Colombia typically ranks lower among the countries, revealing that each year reveals how private institution students outperform public school students in various competitions.
Highlights can be overwhelming. A 2021 report published by the World Bank indicates that a child from a poor family in Colombia receives an average of 2.5 years less education than a child from a rich family.
Julian de Zubiria, an education consultant and rector of the Alberto Meran Private Institute, adds, for example, that the gap in reading can be up to six years. “In other words, an eleventh-grade student at a formal school is, in theory, eligible for a fourth-grade elementary school exam in a good private school.”
The fracture worsened during the pandemic, highlighting the lack of basic tools for the most vulnerable students and online coverage. According to a report by the Economics Laboratory at Bogot. Javeriana University, the return to class was caused by problems in the public school, where 38% of institutions do not have access to drinking water.
The pandemic was also a source of controversy between the Colombian Federation of Educators (FECODE) and the government of Ivan Duke. The union prevented them from returning to the classrooms, hiding behind the destruction of facilities, and was criticized for doing so. Moses Wasserman, Author Education in Colombia, He considers them “sophisms”. “The return cannot be a condition for remedying the waste of decades ago, and requires a completely different system than it did in 2019,” he said.
According to him, the adequacy of the facilities is “hardly a legitimate aspiration” and the most urgent is to address the limitations of virtual learning. According to the Entrepreneurs for Education Foundation, 31% of public system students do not have a home network connection.
Sandra Garcia, PhD in Social Policy from Columbia University and Professor at the Universidad de los Andes, points to the “lack of political leadership”. “The experience of the pandemic was much more traumatic for the public sector, which accounts for 80% of the total number of students. “We are all going to pay for the lack of education, equality, coverage or attendance at school,” he said.
Paola Camelo had ballots that fell into the bosom of segregation. But his outstanding performance in public school and the fate of obtaining a state scholarship, which is no longer awarded today, forced him to pursue the right path and pursue a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in sociology. Andean University.
Before entering a private university, he thought his school level, in Alfonso Lopez Pumarejo Bogota, was acceptable for a new challenge. But he soon realized that his new classmates, the vast majority of former private school students, were doing better in some areas (such as reading English).
By that time part of his worldview had exploded and discoveries were being made day by day. It was not only the wealth of his acquired knowledge, or the material means of the campus, but also the importance of finding models in his professors.
“I am the first person in my family who graduated from high school. “And over the years, my only role models have been some of my friend’s brothers who were studying for a scholarship or a public university,” Camelo said. Most of the parents of his acquaintances did not graduate, or went straight from school to work, so he did not have the academic experience to broaden his horizons.
Today, he knows that not everything “happens in the classroom.” This refers to the integration of cultural codes such as language, access to information or place of residence. Concepts that are part of the economist Leopoldo Ferguson, co-author Fifth Gate And a doctor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) calls it “intangible social assets.”
Witnessed by Maria Jose Alvarez Rivadula, a sociologist at the University of Pittsburgh and a teacher in the Andes. The Colombian-Uruguayan academic, who became one of Paola Camello’s cues, has focused part of his paper on the study of inequality, and knows from his own experience that school diversity can break the seams and open up the “opportunity for thought. Feel equal in such an unequal country. And to see that even though there are different ways of life, we can all be in one room. ”
And from him. In Colombia, says Ferguson, “clashes between social classes are merely subordinate. It would therefore be very valuable to start rebuilding social fabric from the classes. It will help break down mistrust, break down stereotypes and, ultimately, train citizens. ”
There is even plenty of literature to suggest that it is a good antidote to violence. Alvaro Ferrer, head of education at Save the Children’s Spanish division, said: “Research shows that when children develop a sense of solidarity, there is greater acceptance of ethnic diversity and less tendency or tolerance for violent behavior.”
In Colombia, in the absence of a solid state policy, the private sector has for some time funded school administration projects also known as preferential schools. These are low-income institutions that are run, pedagogically oriented, and supported by the wealthiest centers. With its facilities, the Nueva Granada School Shelter is home to a school with 490 students from modest neighborhoods.
There are also other private alliances that provide scholarships to a small number of students to attend their institutions. But these are somewhat disconnected plans. That, in some cases, Moses Wasserman points out that they give rise to “paternalistic” reflexes and a certain “vanity.”
Source: El Diario
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
