Catholics work to improve precarious state of public education in Venezuela

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 29, 2023 / 18:20 pm

The Venezuelan organization of Catholic faithful “Coromoto 2020” held a fundraiser Tuesday to provide scholarships to 60 teachers from public and parochial schools in Carayaca, a city in La Guaira state.

The initiative was part of the GivingTuesday campaign of the GlobalGiving fundraising platform, one of the most important in the world. The scholarships will be used for participating teachers to earn certification in “Pedagogical Mediation for Learning,” which has been endorsed by the International Center for Professional Development of the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas.

“The Venezuelan educational system faces a serious human capital crisis. Insufficient salaries, untrained teachers, and lack of support have led to a teacher shortage. Growing poverty aggravates exclusion, poor academic performance, with students dropping out and irregular attendance,” explained Jessica Parra, the organization’s fundraising manager.

Additionally, she pointed out that Venezuelan families have been forced to “maximize their workforce,” making children go out to work in order to pay the bills and cover their basic needs. “This makes it a huge challenge to retain existing students and reintegrate them into the education system,” she explained.

The 60 teachers who will receive scholarships belong to 14 educational institutions in Carayaca and, according to Coromoto 2020, the program will “open doors to technological mastery and will help them collaboratively resolve problems and interact with students,” which they consider a crucial step to breaking the cycle of poverty.

The organization hopes to directly benefit 1,800 young people who depend on their teachers. “Our goal is to empower our young people to be agents of change by improving their skills through the professional development of their teachers, benefiting students, schools, and their community,” Parra said.

The certification program will begin in January 2024 and will last 100 academic hours (six months). It was created from a pilot project carried out from January to July in schools in the Carayaca community, where it was determined that there were pedagogical, technological, and socio-emotional needs.

In addition to this new educational initiative, Coromoto 2020 has served thousands of Venezuelan families with difficulty putting food on the table and has strengthened their values, bringing hope and forming a deep social commitment.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.