- In Peru, 4 out of every 10 girls and boys in urban areas and 1 in 10 in rural areas have difficulties in reading comprehension or mathematics.
- It is estimated that 800 thousand girls and boys from rural areas do not have access to education due to the lack of educational materials in their native languages.
- They ask the Peruvian state to implement support programs for those responsible for the family and training in the use of new technologies for educators.
As a result of the educational crisis that generated the COVID-19 pandemic, the Peruvian state, through ministerial resolution No. 160-2020, implemented the strategy "I learn at home - Distance education" which aims to guarantee the right to education of girls, boys and adolescents, through the dissemination of educational content on radio, television and the internet. [1]
In this context, the Group of National Initiative for the Rights of the Child - GIN - Peru, in coordination with the initiative Weaving Childhood Nets in Latin America and the Caribbean, co-financed by the European Union, as part of the #NiñezPrimero strategy, organized the Webinar: Challenges and challenges of Education and Interculturality in Peru in the new coexistence.
In dialogue, Flor Aideé Pablo Medina, Former Minister of Education, explained that in Peru approximately 115 thousand girls and boys between the ages of 3 and 5 are not enrolled in the educational system; regarding the level of learning, 4 out of 10 in urban areas and 1 out of 10 in rural areas have difficulties in reading comprehension or mathematics; Problem that tends to be aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Flor Aideé also highlighted four important aspects that must be considered to guarantee an equal education for children; prioritize learning and care, emphasize equity, institutionalize distance education, strengthen and expand public education. "To ensure the right to education you have to arrive with relevance, there is no educational service that can be called quality if it does not arrive in the language, it is important to respect the culture and make the girls and boys feel that they are learning."
In this regard, Elena Burga Cabrera, Former Vice Minister of Interculturality, indicated that poverty, the lack of electronic equipment, the lack of access to the internet or electricity, are factors that influence a girl or boy from the rural area to not be able to exercise their education rights.
Another important element that Burga highlighted was the lack of budget to design and produce educational materials in native languages; and added that in Peru there are approximately 50 indigenous peoples. "There is still a huge gap, materials and training sessions were made in native languages but only 200 thousand benefited, there are 800 thousand girls and boys who do not get anything", explained.
Regarding this, Dina Flor, a teenager and bilingual reporter from Cusco - Peru, regretted that most of the materials do not consider the knowledge, customs and language of indigenous peoples; “As adolescents, we ask the authorities and teachers to reflect on intercultural education (…) it is important to speak and revalue our family dynamics in the peasant communities, including our own issues, we want more support from the authorities, guaranteeing quality education in rural areas and stability economic of the families ”.
Similarly, Rosario Salazar Segovia, Director of AMAHUTA (GIN), expressed that the COVID-19 pandemic made visible the difficulties that exist in the educational system; For this reason, he suggested that the state implement counseling and support programs for the parents of the communities and train the educators so that they can adapt their teaching according to the needs of indigenous children; "We need to contextualize education, this means taking into account that girls, boys and adolescents who do not live in a single context, but differentiated".
Regarding the subject, Juan Martín Pérez García, Coordinator of the #TejiendoRedesInfancia Initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean, explained that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated several problems that affect childhood and adolescence; He emphasized the need to carry out coordinated actions and demand greater investment for children. "The pandemic is reminding us that we cannot think of national measures, we have to see the actions from a regional perspective (...) otherwise we run the risk that violations of the rights of excluded populations will deepen and that ideas persist against the rights of girls and boys ”.
In closing, Ana María Watson Peña, President of the National Initiative Group for Children's Rights, emphasized that the participation of girls and boys is fundamental when designing educational strategies; mainly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; “Participation makes children and adolescents a citizen of rights and allows states to provide timely responses”, concluded.
[1] Ministerial Resolution No. 160-2020-MINEDU
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#ChildhoodFirst It is a strategy that provides guidance for the care of children and adolescents in emergency situations.
Weaving Childhood Networks, is a project co-financed by the European Union that seeks to contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of a platform for the defense of children and adolescents in 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Children's Rights Mexico AC / #TejiendoRedesInfancia and in no case should it consider that it reflects the views of the European Union.