Ideas for Education in Venezuela

1) EDUCATION

This is part of all the ideas for Venezuela

1.1. PROMOTE LEARNING THROUGH EDUCATIONAL OLYMPIC GAMES:
The government should introduce a series of math and science competitions for kids in poor sectors. Prizes should be books, scientific material and extra courses they can select.

1.2. STOP PERSONALITY CULTS OR POLITIZATION:
The government should neither politicize education nor promote personality cults of dead or living personalities. We should stop behaving like another Turkmenistan.

1.3. TEACH HOW TO SET UP BUSINESSES AND MANAGE MONEY:
The government must introduce compulsory courses on entrepreneurial skills and basic finances at the beginning of secondary school.

1.4. PAY TEACHERS FAIRLY IN COMPARISON TO POLITICIANS:
The ratio between the salaries of Venezuelan teachers and deputies should not be higher than the one in developed countries such as Finland or Switzerland. That is: Venezuelan deputies should not earn 2000% more than Venezuelan teachers, while Finnish teachers earn "just" 50% of what their deputies earn.

1.5. RAISE REQUIREMENTS AND STATUS FOR TEACHERS:
The status of educators needs to be reviewed. The government must increase the requirements to become a teacher as well as the attractiveness of the job.

1.6. INDEX TEACHERS' SALARIES:
Teachers' salaries should be indexed by law: they must be raised automatically at the beginning of each year according to last year' inflation as registered by the Central bank. Teachers should not be begging all the time.

1.7. COMPARE VENEZUELA'S BASIC EDUCATION WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD:
Venezuela MUST take part in the PISA testing programme. Our government avoids like hell any kind of real accountability on anything including its work on education. This must change. Venezuela has to take part in the PISA programme, as other non-OECD countries are already doing.

The first results will show our education levels are disastrous, even for Latin American standards. The education minister must commit himself to raise the position of Venezuela within 3 years. If she or he does not accomplish that, she or he must be sacked.

Read here for more information on this topic.












The ACM is an interesting organization that needs the support of the government and the private sector.

1.8. DISCUSS EDUCATION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR:
The Venezuelan government needs to meet at least once a year with the private sector and discuss what skills workers need and what can be done to make the Venezuelan workforce more competitive. The government needs to publish a report at the latest one month after such meeting has taken place.

1.9. IMPROVE PUBLIC LIBRARIES VIA LUXURY TAXATION:
The state must use taxes for some luxury imports pay for more public libraries and give more books on mathematics and business skills to existing libraries.

1.10. IMPLEMENT A REAL SYSTEM FOR LENDING BOOKS:
The state must implement a system whereby people can borrow books in an efficient way. Most books in Venezuela's libraries are for reading inside the premises only.

1.11. DISSEMINATE INFORMATION ABOUT AVAILABLE LIBRARIES:
All schools must publish a list and address of all public libraries in the area. All public libraries must publish the same list on the front door. This seems like a very tiny detail to suggest here, but believe me: I know how necessary it is. I remember as I discovered when I was a child that there were other public libraries in Valencia than the one everybody knew about and that almost no one knew about them. I asked the people at the main library why they did not hang out the list of other libraries so that people could go there. They did not know what to say firstly and the someone said they did not do it because they had only one copy of the list. I asked them why they did not make another copy or let me (a child) make a copy for them and put the list on the door. They just thought it was not possible.

1.12. BUILD MORE CLASSROOMS:
There should be more classrooms and thus less pupils per teacher.

1.13. IMPROVE SCHOOL LIBRARIES:
Public schools should get more books for their libraries and schools should promote that pupils can borrow them.

1.14. INCREASE SECONDARY SCHOOL TIME:
Venezuela's high school should last one year more. Venezuela has one of the shortest secondary education systems. Most pupils are vastly unprepared for what they will find at university level. The beginning of university is often lost as "preparation for university". One needs to tackle this, among other things, by working in an extra secondary school year on such issues as mathematic and writing/reading skills.