Former Ministers of Education Jaime Saavedra, Flor Pablo, Martín Benavides and Daniel Alfaro met in a discussion about the direction that the portfolio they directed in the past is currently taking. The appointment was convened by Care and the former Minister of Education Marilú Martens, who directs said organization.
During the talk at the event entitled With Education We Can, three topics in particular were developed: the return to face-to-face classes, the public teaching career and the bills that seek to roll back the advances of the National Superintendence of Higher University Education (Sunedu).
against recoil
The first part discussed, above all, the issue of basic education. The five former ministers agreed that attendance in classrooms at the national level cannot be delayed any longer. They also agreed that the gaps between students from different sectors of the country widened during the pandemic and that, since 2021, this situation could be reversed; however, the order to return to the classrooms was not given.
Marilú Martens told Perú21 that from her experience and that of the other four speakers “we have to return to face-to-face classes and it is an issue on which we all agree”. In addition, she stressed that the national agenda must prioritize the vaccination of teachers and provide the security and biosecurity that students require to be able to return to the classroom.
As a second topic, the Public Teaching Career was discussed and the law of the reform to the teacher was discussed, which has been in force for approximately 10 years. The participants assured that, since the publication of the standard to date, the evolution of the teacher regarding the measurement of their learning, their hiring, meritocracy and educational spending has grown positively. For this reason, they urged the authorities not to cause a “regression” on it.
Regarding the university retro-reform supported by Congress, Daniel Alfaro stressed that this would not only affect higher education students, but also students who are in their last years in schools nationwide.
“If approved in the second vote, this would affect the technical and autonomous character that Sunedu has, which is so that the student’s interest is at the center of concern and not private interests.”
Regarding the evolution of the Education portfolio, Jaime Saavedra pointed out that in general there has been a lot of progress. He gave the example of the Teacher Reform Law and the University Law that “for almost a decade have constituted State policies that have survived and have matured throughout various governments, so they must be maintained”, because in this way the quality of education will continue to improve and evolve.
The event will be broadcast by Care via Facebook this Wednesday, March 2 at 5:00 pm and also through Peru21.TV.
Keep in mind
- Unicef, the World Bank and UNESCO were in favor of face-to-face classes and urged the Government not to go back on its decision.
- However, President Pedro Castillo contradicted the Ministry of Education and pointed out that classes would return in person from April 2022, when, as announced by the entity, they would take place between March 1 and 14.
- Regarding the university issue, the Multiparty Parliamentary Block for University Reform, together with students and different organizations, continue to try to prevent the anti-Sunedu law from being approved in the second vote.
- This rule, promoted by three benches, would bring down said entity and allow universities to be created without regulation or basic quality conditions, harming students.
