Paraguay's Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC) is pushing forward with a large-scale project to reorganize educational institutions that have become "ghost schools" due to declining student numbers. Minister of Education Luis Ramírez revealed that more than 2,355 schools nationwide have only 20 to 30 students, with some exhibiting the peculiar phenomenon of having more teachers than students. This is highlighted as a serious problem leading to wasted education budgets and students' academic underachievement.
Minister Ramírez stated, "Out of 6,000 schools, 2,355 have only 20 to 30 students," emphasizing that there's no longer a need to build schools, especially in areas with severe student exodus. There have also been reports of some municipalities investing over $1 million in unused classrooms despite a sharp decline in student numbers. This is due to changes in the Fonacide fund provisions, which require municipalities to invest 70% of their resources in school infrastructure. Ramírez added that he is considering ways to allow these funds to be invested in transportation for students.
The core of the problem lies in the deterioration of educational quality due to insufficient student numbers. Minister Ramírez expressed concern that in schools with fewer students, teachers are not professionally trained for 'multi-grade' education, where they teach multiple grades simultaneously, leading to students not learning properly. He lamented, "If there are more teachers than students, what are those children learning and in what environment? If there are no teachers trained in multi-grade education, those students will learn nothing."
The MEC's current reorganization project focuses on solving these problems and efficiently restructuring the education system. The main aspects of the project are as follows:
School Integration and Relocation: Schools with low student numbers will be merged and consolidated to promote efficient class operations. This will resolve issues of idle classrooms and surplus teachers and provide students with an environment where they can learn with more peers.
Strengthened Commuter Support: Municipalities will be encouraged to utilize Fonacide funds to provide transportation for students, supporting their relocation to larger nearby schools. This is expected to increase student access and help alleviate imbalances in educational opportunities.
Conversion to Learning Support Centers: The idle facilities of consolidated schools will be considered for conversion into 'learning stimulation centers' for mathematics and language learning in the afternoons. This aims to help students improve their academic performance and efficiently utilize the educational infrastructure within the community.
Teacher Retraining and Redeployment: Retraining programs will be established to enhance teachers' expertise in multi-grade education, and teachers will be redeployed to schools with higher student numbers to balance the teacher-to-student ratio.
Minister Ramírez emphasized that this project aims to increase the efficiency of the education system and ultimately improve students' learning experiences. He stated that "organizing the institutions is the most crucial point," and through this, they will be able to provide a better learning environment for students and allocate educational resources more effectively. The MEC plans to address the structural problems facing Paraguay's education system through this reorganization project, laying the groundwork for all students to receive quality education.
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