The Minister of Education, Maruja Gorday de Villalobos, during a visit yesterday to the Ustupu community, Guna Yala region, together with regional and local authorities and the educational community, addressed the accompaniment strategies with a view to strengthening education in the region and guarantee access to quality education in hard-to-reach areas.
He reported that the project being carried out to build the facilities in which the Nele Kantule Bilingual General Basic Education Center and the Cacique Olodebiliguinya Institute will function will be handed over to the community in December of next year, since it will constitute a large physical space for more than 900 students of various levels and who are currently served by 65 teachers in temporary classrooms.
In the meeting held at the Ustupu House of Congress, with the participation of the Guna General Congress, local and political authorities and the team from the Ministry of Education, Minister Gorday de Villalobos said that interacting with the community and listening to their needs and aspirations, also gives you the opportunity to learn about the projects that the institution has for the Guna Yala region.
The minister, who also participated in the acts to commemorate the death of Nele Kantule, leader of the Guna Revolution of 1925, upon receiving the representative flag of the town, highlighted the erudite indigenous leader, also the creator of a traditional school for young people, and instructed them on Guna story.
“Through the National Directorate of Bilingual Intercultural Education, primary education is contextualized and progress is already being made in the printing process, in the Dulegaya language, to guarantee that worldview that each region, each town requires to maintain its culture and that the school be the key to intercultural bilingual education”, highlighted the minister.
Another of the projects that will be delivered in the coming days, as reported at the meeting, is the Sayla Olonibiginya model school, located in Cartí, which will serve more than 650 students.
The Nele Kantule Bilingual General Basic School and the Cacique Olodebiliguinya Ustupu Institute will be able to serve students from the districts of Aligandí and Tubualá and, together with the Sayla Oloniginya, the Nele Kantule Bilingual General Basic School and the Cacique Olodebiliguinya Institute, will expand access to education so that the children and youth of Guna Yala have relevant opportunities and tools that promote educational quality.
Among the meeting participants who accompanied Minister Gorday de Villalobos were Filemón Herrera, highest authority of the Sagla community; Griselina Benítez, administrative authority of the community of Bundor; Iguaibiliguiña Hedman, General Secretary of the Guna Yala Educators Association; Guillermo Alegría, General Director of Education; and Enrique Gardel, National Director of Bilingual Intercultural Education.
