Venezuela left without teachers: The black future in education left by the Maduro regime

Classes started on Venezuela Last October with a collapsed educational system. In addition to student dropouts, unstable working conditions, and failing buildings, there is a shortage of teachers. This is a situation that is seen as a serious problem over the next ten years.

With the beginning of the school year system Nicolas Maduro He pointed out that more than 8 million students have gradually returned to the classroom, in “Venezuela, which wants more education and culture, which is the path to happiness.” but, Reality looks different and has a devastating future.

In the first days of school, attendance at schools of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and the National Police (PNB) was recorded due to demands for teachers’ salaries and in order to verify the attendance of the few individuals who continued to study and work.

In the absence of official data, reports from various organizations indicate this Thousands of teachers left their jobs Searching for better opportunities abroad, which created a shortage of qualified teachers and negatively affected the quality of education. This situation constitutes a serious obstacle to the academic development of Venezuelan students and the future of future generations.

Non-governmental organizationFundaNetes“It conducted an educational consultation in the border states of Amazonas, Apure, Bolivar, Falcon, Tachira and Zulia. – Exemption of 307 teachers at the primary, primary and general secondary levels.

One of the main problems is Low wages Which is not sufficient to cover the expenses of food, clothing, transportation, health or education for their children.

(Infographic: Marcelo Regalado)

according to Center for Documentation and Social Analysis of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers (Cendas-FVM), The cost of the food basket reached $493.53 in October, while the teacher’s salary is about $100 per month.

Graduation Zuli Moura from FundaRedes He told Infobae that the low salary affects the quality of education because the situation harms the teacher first because he cannot cover the basic needs of his family. So he goes to his institution without any incentive. He goes to comply or dictate what is to be done in the learning process.

Facing economic difficulties, “34.9% of teachers decided to leave the teaching profession.” because? They have to generate income in other areas of work to be able to cover the basic food basket, Mora explained.

Also, future prospects are not encouraging because Lack of vocational training. Mora indicated that based on an analysis at the Gervasio Rubio University, the Catholic University and the University of Los Andes in the state of Tachira; “The enrollment rate in education-related professions has disappeared significantly, by about 80%.”

“It’s no longer something that attracts young people to say, ‘I’m going to study education.’. because? Because they see the reality that teachers go through every day.”

By chance, they uploaded it with Infobae Gabriela Domingoboss National Association “With the School” Deputy Director and Official Spokesperson Oscar Evan RoseWho warned that there will be no replacement generation for teachers. “In 10 or 15 years there will be a big gap. During that period, many people will retire, because the majority of teachers today are over 40 years old. “We don’t know what will happen because no one is teaching education.”

According to data obtained by FundaRedes, 40.0% of active teachers are over 50 years old while 6.2% have 5 or fewer years of service. In addition, the integration of new professionals into the field of education has decreased significantly. In addition to the lack of professionals, there are also difficulties in specialization; In fact, 73.0% of teachers surveyed were not currently able to pursue new studies.

With salaries unable to cover the food basket, teachers are forced to look for alternatives to survive in the face of the humanitarian emergency, as one in four teachers expressed their intention to emigrate. “Teachers often have nothing to consume in their refrigerators,” Mora described.

For its part, Con la Escuela also conducted a survey on the educational situation during October 2023 and teachers “tell us that everyone They have at least one other source of income“They have another job and it is not related to teaching.” They generally hold positions in shops or companies or work as taxi drivers.

This context is not favored by working conditions either. Although the Maduro regime is promoting school recovery with its military community education and health brigades (Precomels), in the border states, instability makes daily tasks difficult.

Mora explained that in some institutions in Tachira, “boys are in their classrooms where they use a phone lamp or have to get a candle because their cords were stolen and the state did not respond.” Another case was discovered in the municipality of Torbes where “wires have been stolen since March and they have not received any response yet.” For this reason, “here we say that education is not a priority for the state.”

Reducing the number of teaching staff has a direct impact on the quality of education, and to mitigate the crisis, various proposals have been put in place. Director of the Center for Educational Innovation, Dr Andres Bello Catholic University, Eduardo Cantera He stressed that cases had been uncovered in which “teachers leave the educational system and these tasks are taken over by other members of society, such as some parents” who have some academic training.

In the face of teacher absenteeism, those who remain in the classroom must unify the different levels. Cantera explained that in the face of this situation, the educational programs were not reorganized, but rather each taught the subject. “This does not mean closing the school, but I say okay, because with one teacher I cover three classes at the same time.” Class is the same way, and is more suitable for groups of students.

What’s called Mosaic table It was one of the proposals implemented during the pandemic and is still in place in public schools in Venezuela. The permanence of this system not only accommodates the shortage of teachers, but also allows them to enter other fields of work. However, academic content is affected since “children can go to class two or three days during the week and during limited hours,” explains Con la Escuela.

These flaws in the system have resulted in some border states being more severely affected. Mora revealed that in the state of Tachira, some boys and girls from the municipalities of Urena and San Antonio have to move to the city of Cúcuta (Colombia) to continue their studies. “They cannot do it here because there are no institutions and no teachers,” Mora explained. “It is a very difficult situation that these people are in.” Children should go to another country when they can study in the country where they live“.

The plan that has emerged to compensate for missing teachers is the so-called “Youth job” High school graduates were offered work as teachers. For the “With School” members, this proposal was not effective because of the lack of training, because they were children of approximate ages and because the salary was not attractive either.

Beyond that, the proposalHe devalued the teaching profession“Why would you study four or five years of university if the precarious high school diploma that these kids have is offering them the job they should have for someone who has dedicated themselves to studying and being a teaching professional,” said Oscar Evan Rose.

Not having a solid base of knowledge in different subjects leads to difficulties when trying to complete a degree. In this sense, 97.4% of teachers surveyed by FundaRedes agreed that the vast majority of young people who have completed their middle and high school studies are not academically prepared to begin their higher education.

Added to this are the precarious conditions of public universities where “there is a lot and a lot of vulnerability because they have not been able to get a budget that adapts to their needs,” Cantera explained and noted that university students themselves are coming together to offer assistance to newcomers and in this way “cover up the cracks in the system.” “Educational”.

Although conditions in the Venezuelan educational system are unfavorable, “Venezuelan education faces resistance due to the push given to it by administrators and education workers To address the educational emergency,” Cantera analyzed. Con la Escuela members insisted that “the situation of teachers must be resolved because it is a national cry that cannot continue. In other words, teachers need decent salary conditions not only to be able to support themselves, but also to make the profession attractive.” For new generations.

Finally, FundaRedes considered that “the state must generate action that allows to immediately overcome pre-existing problems and implement public educational policies, searching for standards that transform the work of the country’s educational institutions.”