Education in Venezuela is administered and regulated
by the Venezuelan Ministry of Education and is highly centralized.
Education is compulsory for the first nine years (educación básica) and is taught in Spanish. After nine
years of basic education, students are streamed into either the humanities or
the sciences at the diversified secondary education level (educación media diversificada), which lasts two years and
leads to the award of the bachiller. Alternatively, secondary students can
follow a two- to three-year specialized curriculum (educación media profesional) leading to the award of a
technical degree. Education is free to all and at all levels of the system;
however, private schooling is popular, especially at the secondary level. Both
public and private schools are subject to supervision by the ministry, and must
meet the same standards.
Given the
centralized nature of the education system, the 14-year rule of President Hugo
Chávez, who died this March, was transformative at all levels, but especially
so at the tertiary level. Under Chávez’s Bolivarian Missions social outreach
program, launched in 2003, a focus on literacy programs and university
preparatory programs greatly expanded educational opportunities to previously
excluded groups from poor areas of the country. In conjunction with the
introduction of open university admissions and the creation of new public
universities, the university outreach programs have helped grow enrollments
from 670,000 in 1998 to almost 2.5 million today.
A new university, the Bolivarian University of Venezuela was created in 2003 for the
masses, with enrollment open to all regardless of prior educational experience,
qualifications or nationality. The university currently enrolls in excess of
180,000 students, with an eventual goal of enrolling one million students at
campuses across the country. Graduates of the institution, currently numbering
approximately 200,000, are expected to staff other social programs under the
broader Social Missions network, staffing free public health clinics, literacy
centers and government media outlets. Critics of the new institution see it as
an arm of the government’s propaganda apparatus, ruled by Marxist doctrine, and
a further challenge to traditional values of university autonomy within the
country.
Traditionally
autonomous universities – long the preserve of Venezuela’s upper and middle
classes – have fought hard to stave off challenges from the government to their
academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The current law governing higher
education dates back to the 1970s, and while all parties involved in the
higher-education debate agree that the law needs updating if higher education
is to respond to the 21st century needs of the nation, attempted Chávez reforms
have been lightening rods for protests among university administrators and
student groups. These constituencies also point to severe underinvestment in autonomous
universities and academic research, a reality that continues to force a
significant migration of academic talent overseas.
The
question of university reform remained unresolved at the time of Chávez’s
death, and Venezuela’s tertiary system looks set to continue in a relative
state of crisis given the recent election of Chávez’s appointed successor
Nicolás Maduro and the continuation of the regime.
Speaking recently in Dubai at Going Global, the
British Council’s conference for higher education leaders, Orlando Albornoz,
professor of education at the Central University of Venezuela, told delegates that those in
charge of higher education in his country would remain deeply committed to a
“different vision” of university education than that held by those from the
traditional university sector.
Internationally
Mobile Students
An estimated 9,000 Venezuelan scientists are currently
living in the United States – compared with 6,000 employed in Venezuela – and
as many as one million total Venezuelans migrated overseas during the Chávez
era. A study released in 2009 by the Latin
America Economic System, an
intergovernmental economic research institute, found that the outflow of highly
skilled labor, aged 25 or older, from Venezuela to OECD countries rose 216
percent between 1990 and 2007, while a 2008
study by Vanderbilt University showed that 47 percent of
18-year-olds said they planned to emigrate in the next three years.
The
number of Venezuelans in the United States on student visas grew to 6,281 in
2012, up from 4,678 in 2009, but still well below the highs of the late 1970s
to mid 1980s when in excess of 10,000 Venezuelans were studying at U.S.
institutions of higher education. At that time, Venezuela was easily the
biggest source of students from the Latin American region for U.S. institutions
of higher education. The surge in overseas study among Venezuelans up until the
economic downturn of the 1980s was largely a result of government efforts to
meet the needs of its growing and increasingly sophisticated economy. During
that time, the government sent many Venezuelans abroad for training,
particularly to the United States and Europe.
Today,
Venezuela ranks fourth as a regional source of students at U.S. institutions of
higher education, behind Mexico (13,893), Brazil (9,029), and Colombia (6,295).
Nonetheless, the last two years has seen a 34 percent increase in enrollments
from Venezuela.
Over 60
percent of students in the United States on study visas are currently attending
undergraduate programs. Business and engineering are the two most popular
fields (25.6 and 15.5 percent of the total respectively), with just over 10
percent undertaking intensive English-language programs.
The
United States has long been the primary overseas destination for Venezuelan
students; however, Chavez’s strategic alliance with Cuba and the focus on links
with universities there rather than the United States and Europe has resulted
in many thousands of Venezuelans travelling to Cuba to study in recent years,
especially in the healthcare fields.
Currency control measures introduced last spring by
the Venezuelan Ministry of Higher Education are currently restricting the
ability of some prospective international students to fund their overseas
educations. According to the new currency exchange measures, only students
seeking specific degrees in 172 fields, as designated by the state, are allowed
to exchange currency for study abroad through the Foreign
Exchange Administration Commission (CADIVI), the national authority in charge of
currency transfers. Students of psychology, law, sociology, biology,
international studies and the humanities, among others, are not allowed to
access foreign currency through CADIVI.
With the
new changes, only students studying basic sciences, engineering/ architecture
and technology, agriculture and marine sciences, health sciences, education,
sport sciences, social sciences or literature/the arts are being
granted foreign currency. The government recognizes these as fields of
study in which Venezuela does not have enough trained professionals. If the
policy stays in place under the new leadership of President Maduro, many
students say they will have to continue turning to the black market for foreign
currency, adding significant cost and likely reducing the overall mobility of
Venezuelan students.
Structure
of Education in Venezuela
Basic
Education
Primary education (educación básica) is compulsory from the age of six and
free in public schools. Since 1981, the length of primary education has been
nine years. Students can attend free pre-school classes if their parents so
choose, but this is not compulsory.
Schools are administered and funded at either the
national, state or municipal level. Curricular content is much the same at all
schools due to strong central control. The school year extends from
September through to June or July, and students are assessed on the basis of
continuous assessment. Successful students are awarded the Certificado de Educación Básica (Basic Education Certificate).
In 2007,
President Chavez introduced a new ‘Bolivarian’ curriculum for all schools in
the country, including private ones. A law passed in 2009 granted greater
control over curriculum development to the country’s Communal Councils, closely
linked to the ruling party, prompting protests about the politicization of the
school system. Proponents of the reforms have praised measures designed to
significantly increase participation in poor areas of the country. To what
degree the curriculum reforms have been implemented is somewhat unclear at this
stage.
Secondary
Education
Secondary education (educación media) follows the nine-year basic cycle and
students follow either the academic stream (two years in length) or a
technical/vocational stream, which is most commonly three years in length.
Students receive technical and vocational instruction through the school
system, or at vocational colleges operated by the Instituto Nacional de Cooperación
Educativa. It is also offered at
postsecondary level at university colleges, institutes of technology and
university institutes. There are both public secondary schools (liceos) and private secondary schools (colegios). Approximately one in four students
attend private schools at the secondary level.
The
academic stream is subdivided into two options, with students choosing either a
science or humanities option. In the technical/vocational stream, students
choose from one of five options: agriculture, art, commerce, industrial
studies, or social work. All programs are three years in length except
commerce, which is two, and typically focused on technical career training.
The
academic stream has traditionally been considered of higher prestige than the
technical route, and approximately two-thirds of secondary students choose that
path, most commonly in the science stream. In addition to
specialization-specific subjects, all students must take: Spanish language and
literature, mathematics, philosophy, Venezuelan history and geography, physical
education and English.
Graduates of the academic stream are awarded either
the Bachiller en Humanidades (Bachillerin the Humanities) or the Bachiller en Ciencias (Bachiller in Science). Graduates of the
technical/vocational stream are awarded the Bachiller in their chosen field (Bachiller Industrial, Bachiller Comercial, Bachiller en Agropecuario, Bachiller Asistencial (social work) or Bachiller en Arte).
Graduates
of both streams can apply for university entrance, although in the past the
academic stream has been the traditional route to a university education. These
norms have been broken down considerably in recent years under reforms
instituted by former president Hugo Chavez that, among other things, ended the
national college aptitude test and entrance examinations at public universities
in a bid to lower barriers to entry for students from disadvantaged
backgrounds. According to government figures, these access policies have had
significant success, with the tertiary gross enrollment ratio (total tertiary
enrollments as a percentage of the college-age population) rising from 28
percent in 2000 to 78 percent in 2009, well above the regional average of 39
percent.
Higher
Education
Higher education in Venezuela is offered at
universities, polytechnic institutes, university colleges, institutes of
technology and private university institutes. The latter three types of
institutions offer short-cycle sub-degree awards known as Técnico Superior.
The
country’s six autonomous state universities are the oldest and most prestigious
in Venezuela and operate as traditional multi-faculty institutions. They are
all publicly funded and autonomously regulated. However, their right to
administer their own selection processes was ended in 2009 in an amendment to
the Organic Education Law. University stakeholders have been fighting hard in
recent years to avoid further erosion of their autonomy by fiercely protesting
various iterations of a proposed update of the 1970 law governing universities
in the country. However, the creation and expansion of new public universities,
in combination with new public funding policies, has left the autonomous
universities severely underfunded and in a current state of flux.
Also
largely autonomous from state control are 10 national experimental
universities. These have a smaller number of faculties focused largely on
technical and vocational subjects.
Newer
public universities, such as the 200,000-strong Universidad Bolivariana –
created by decree in 2003 – offer open admissions and are firmly under the
control of the central government. These institutions have been the driving
force behind the massive growth in tertiary enrollments over the last decade.
At the University of the Armed Forces, for example, enrollment has reportedly
grown from 3,200 in 2003 to 224,000 in 2007. Meanwhile, the private sector,
which previously accounted for 40 percent of all tertiary enrollments, now
teaches less than 20 percent of Venezuela’s student population.
Polytechnic
institutes offer five-year programs in engineering and other technical fields
and their awards are considered equivalent to university awards. The Ministry
of Education directly administers these institutions.
Undergraduate
Education
There are two main degree awards at the undergraduate
level in Venezuela: the short-cycletécnico superior and the licenciado, the traditional first-degree
university award. The former is awarded mainly by institutes of technology,
university colleges, and university institutes, although some universities also
run programs leading to the award.
The licenciado is typically awarded after
five years of study, although a few programs of study are four years in length.
The coursework for the licenciado is very specialized with
little flexibility in course offerings.
Professional titles in fields such as dentistry,
engineering, law and medicine are comparable to the licenciado and are typically five years
in length. The professional title in medicine (Médico-Cirujano) is a six-year program.
Graduate
Education
At the graduate level there are three main awards: diploma de especialista (specialist diploma) the magister, and the doctorado.
The specialist diploma requires one year of study
after the licenciado and provides training in
specialized professional fields.
The master’s degree requires two years further study
after the licenciado and is offered in both
academic and professional fields. Most magister programs require completion of a thesis.
The doctorate degree requires three years of study and
is awarded by thesis only. Admission is open to holders of the magister.
Suggested
WES Grade Conversion
For secondary credentials, WES requires that the applicant
submit a clear, legible photocopy of his/her graduation certificate or diploma
as issued by the Ministerio de Educación (e.g.bachiller, técnico medio). In addition the certificado de notas/calificaciones (academic transcripts) must be
sent directly by the institution attended.
For higher education awards, WES requires that the
applicant submit clear, legible photocopies of all diplomas and degree
certificates issued by the institutions attended (e.g. técnico, licenciado, título profesional, maestría,
doctorado). In
addition the certificado de notas/calificaciones (academic transcripts) for all
post-secondary programs of study must be sent directly by the institutions
attended. For completed doctoral programs, a letter confirming the awarding of
the degree must be sent directly by the institutions attended.
For vocational and professional awards, WES requires
that all graduation certificates (e.g. técnico superior or título profesional) indicating all exams taken
and grades obtained be sent directly to WES by the institutions attended. In
addition the certificación de notas/calificaciones(academic transcripts) issued
by the institutions attended for all programs of post-secondary study should be
sent directly by the institutions attended.
Photocopies
of precise, word-for-word, English translations are required for all foreign
language documents.
Conclusion
The
twenty-first century has so far been one of great change for the education
system of Venezuela, due in large part to the policies and reform efforts of
populist president Hugo Chávez.
Educational
outreach programs have brought Venezuelan literacy rates up to regional
standards, with the number of children attending school increasing from 6
million in 1998 to 13 million in 2011, and the net enrollment rate (NER: number
of primary age children in school as a percentage of the total primary-age
population) to 93 percent from 85 percent in 1999. Even more impressively, the
secondary NER has risen from 48 percent to 72 percent over the same timeframe.
Both figures are now in line with regional averages. At the tertiary level, the
gross enrollment ratio has exploded to 78 percent (2009) from just 28 percent
in 2000, with open access policies prompting tens of thousands of
non-traditional and disadvantaged learners to enter the system.
However,
issues related to politicization, underfunding, brain drain, and encroachments
on academic and institutional autonomy have left the university system in a
precarious position.
The
Chávez administration increased student enrollment significantly, creating 13
new universities, but without the necessary budget allocations to support the
expansion, quality at all levels has suffered. After clashes between the regime
and university administrators in recent years, the future of the traditional
university research sector remains highly uncertain, and it remains to be seen
if the new leadership of President Maduro can, or is interested in, finding the
common ground necessary to move the country’s needed university reform and modernization
process forward.
Como podrán observar este texto tiene varios párrafos. Los requerimientos serán los siguientes:
1. Escriba su opinión acerca de lo expresado en las últimas tres líneas del primer párrafo. (5 pts)
2. Extraiga la idea principal del texto y las ideas secundarias (en inglés y en español). (5 pts)
3. Redacte un resumen del texto en español. (5 pts).
4. Comente de manera analítica y crítica el contenido del mencionado texto. (10 pts).
Una vez realizada la actividad, cada participante deberá ubicarse donde dice: “publicar un comentario en la entrada”, pegar allí por separado cada una de las actividades antes señaladas y darle “publicar”. Sugiero que esta acción la realice en partes, puesto que el Blog no permite contenidos muy extensos.
