A quality education for the native populations of Peru

A quality education for the native populations of Peru 26/10/2009

Several Peruvian organizations that promote Human Rights and quality education -among them the Peruvian Institute foe Education in Human Rights and Peace (IPEDEHP), local partner of Entreculturas-, have issued a manifesto demanding a better attention from the State in the education of the native populations of Peru.

MANIFESTO

THE NATIVE POPULATIONS AND THEIR RIGHT TO A QUALITY EDUCATION

The official information shows that that the native populations have the worst education in Peru. The results of the evaluation in 2008 of the Ministry of Education carried out in the Intercultural Bilingual Schools(EIB) are appalling.

Only between 2% and 6% of the students develop reading capacities in their original language.
In the schools of Awajún y Shipibo, between 2,2% and 3,1%, can develop reading capacities in Spanish.

Like a vicious circle, this poor education stops the native populations from having enough bilingual teachers trained for this specialized education. The National Institute for Statistics and Information Technology (INEI) show the deficit:

46% of the EIB school teachers have no training in EIB.
59.5% of the teachers of the Amazonia Native Communities are Spanish speaking or have a different native language of the area.

This reality is aggravated since the approval of the Supreme Decree number 006-2007-ED which marks as 14 the minimum result to enter in the Institutos Superiores Pedagógicos (ISP), where the IEB teachers are trained. This is not reasonable. It is the bad education that the State givers the native populations what makes almost impossible their access to the ISP. This year, at a national level, only 4 candidates passed the exam to enter the EIB degree.

The Political Constitution of Peru in its articles, 2, 15, 16 and 17, and the General Law of Education in its article 8, establish the obligation by the State to guarantee the rights of all Peruvian citizens to an Intercultural Bilingual Education.

The organizations that promote respect for human rights and a quality education demand the attention of the State on this grave situation. It is its obligation to guarantee the native populations 'education and ensure that there are enough teachers with a good bilingual education training. We propose the non application of the SD 006-2007-ED for bilingual teacher training., to adopt affirmative measures and to give priority to native participation in the formulation and carrying out of EIB programmes.

ACCIÓN POR LOS NIÑOS, AIDESEP, ASOCIACIÓN NACIONAL DE MAESTROS DE EDUCACIÓN BILINGÜE INTERCULTURAL, AYUDA EN ACCIÓN, CAMPAÑA PERUANA POR EL DERECHO A LA EDUCACIÓN, CARE - PERÚ, CESIP, CGTP, COLEGIO DE PROFESORES DEL PERÚ, COORDINADORA NACIONAL DE DERECHOS HUMANOS, FORMABIAP, FORO EDUCATIVO, INSTITUTO DE DESARROLLO LOCAL, INSTITUTO EDUCA, INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIÓN LINGÜÍSTICA APLICADA - UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL MAYOR DE SAN MARCOS, INSTITUTO DE PEDAGOGÍA POPULAR, INSTITUTO PERUANO DE EDUCACIÓN EN DERECHOS HUMANOS Y LA PAZ, MOVIMIENTO MANUELA RAMOS, RED NACIONAL DE PROMOCIÓN DE LA INFANCIA, SAVE THE CHILDREN, SECCIÓN DE LINGUÍSTICA DE LA PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DEL PERÚ, TAREA, TIERRA DE NIÑOS.