With Bolivar we go
By Fabrice Losego, UNESCO Courier
Against this backdrop, Chavez abolished registration fees in public schools, sent the armed forces into local communities to repair and build schools and hospitals, and launched a pilot programme aimed at underprivileged children. According to conservative estimates, the initiatives have already allowed 350,000 children to enroll (roughly 4.2 million children make up the basic school population), a figure the president has vowed to boost by the end of the year. During a visit to Venezuela in January 2001, UNESCO’s Director-General Koichiro Matsuura commended Venezuela’ "serious efforts" to promote basic education, reflected in an increase in education spending to 6 percent of GDP, well above the 3.9 percent average in developing countries.
Against this backdrop, Chavez abolished registration fees in public schools, sent the armed forces into local communities to repair and build schools and hospitals, and launched a pilot programme aimed at underprivileged children. According to conservative estimates, the initiatives have already allowed 350,000 children to enroll (roughly 4.2 million children make up the basic school population), a figure the president has vowed to boost by the end of the year. During a visit to Venezuela in January 2001, UNESCO’s Director-General Koichiro Matsuura commended Venezuela’ "serious efforts" to promote basic education, reflected in an increase in education spending to 6 percent of GDP, well above the 3.9 percent average in developing countries.
posted 11:25 PM
