Santiago, In response to the educational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Santiago has become the epicenter for a pivotal Ministerial Meeting of Education. The event, which commenced on Thursday, January 25, 2024, aims to forge a regional action plan to address the pressing educational challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean.
According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the gathering has convened over 30 ministers of Education and Finance to deliberate on strategies to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on education. The meeting stands as a testament to international cooperation, with representation from around 125 million students and 6.9 million educators.
Chile’s Minister of Education, Nicolás Cataldo, underscored the urgency of the meeting in his opening address, emphasizing the need for children and adolescents to reconnect with their educational institutions. Cataldo articulated a vision to not only recover but also reactivate the education sector, urging attendees to leverage the current crisis as an opportunity for profound advancement in educational access and quality.
The meeting’s agenda is set to tackle three critical issues: educational reactivation, teaching transformation, and policy financing. A key input to the discussions is a document titled “Challenge of the Financial Sustainability of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean,” produced by ECLAC with support from the World Bank and UNESCO. The document advocates for increased investment in education and active ministerial engagement in fiscal decisions affecting the sector.
Claudia Uribe, director of the UNESCO Regional Multisectoral Office in Santiago, pointed to tentative signs of recovery in educational metrics but cautioned that significant challenges remain, including the staggering figure of 9.6 million children out of school in 2022. Uribe highlighted the need for comprehensive and systematic action plans for post-pandemic educational recovery, which have so far been scarce.
The executive secretary of ECLAC, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, emphasized the centrality of education in overcoming the region’s development challenges, marked by inequality, growth constraints, and limited institutional capacities. Salazar-Xirinachs called for a resolute investment in education as a cornerstone for sustainable development, growth, and employment strategies.
The Ministerial Meeting in Santiago is poised to have a profound influence on educational policies across Latin America and the Caribbean, as it seeks to address socio-educational disparities and promote an equitable future for all children and young adults in the region.