It’s over 2024 and parents are finishing the registration process for children’s enrollment in schools. Therefore, the Secretary of Education of Bogotá Since October, it has launched the calls for places for 2025 in the different institutions of the city.
However, on many occasions parents were not able to apply for a place, so they wonder what steps they should take to get a place before the year ends.
RCN Radio spoke with Jorge RodriguezDirector of Coverage of the Bogotá Ministry of Education, about the enrollment process for the year 2025, the challenges in assigning school places and the strategies implemented to guarantee access to education in the capital.
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Rodríguez explained that the process of requesting new places began on September 5 and closed on October 4, 2024. During this period, families were able to access the Ministry of Education’s page to make the requests.
“We receive around 70,000 applications for all gradeswhile the initial offer was 120,000 places,” he explained.
However, for those who did not complete the procedure in this period, there will be a new opportunity between December 9 and 13when in-person attention will be opened in local education directorates and educational institutions.
“Families will be able to approach us to manage requests for places or transfers,” he added.
Inclusion of the migrant population
Rodríguez highlighted that Bogotá’s educational system is open to the entire population, including migrants, victims of the armed conflict and people from neighboring municipalities such as Soacha, Mosquera and Madrid.
“The process for the migrant population, including Venezuelan families, is the same as for any citizen. They only need basic documents such as the minor’s identification and, if possible, grade certificates,” he clarified.
One of the great challenges in Bogotá is the identification of out-of-school boys and girls. To this end, the Secretariat carries out active search work in the localities. “We are going door to door and we have already managed to register about 12,000 students who were outside the educational system,” said Rodríguez.
In addition, he highlighted the school permanencewhich include benefits such as school routes and transportation subsidies. “If a student cannot access a nearby school, they are assigned transportation or given subsidies to guarantee their attendance,” he explained. This support seeks to reduce school dropouts, which in 2023 was 2.6%.
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Benefits update for 2025
Rodríguez also reported that families must update the data to access permanence benefits. This process will be available until November 29 on the website of the Ministry of Education. “It is a key step to guarantee the continuity of transportation and school feeding services,” he said.
The director stressed that the decrease in the birth rate is affecting school enrollment in the city. “There is less population to serve, but our objective is to guarantee that all boys and girls access the educational system and remain in it,” he said.
Finally, Rodríguez reiterated the importance of maintaining a accessible and quality education as a basis for better opportunities in the future. “We want no boy or girl to be left out of the educational system. Therefore, we will continue working on strategies that will strengthen coverage and permanence in Bogotá,” he concluded.
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