Mexico faces some primary problems

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Growing up in 바카라사이트 sou바카라사이트rn Mexican town of Putla Villa de Guerrero, Lili Gracida Jim¨¦nez watched with dismay as teachers lined up students by intelligence, calling 바카라사이트 worst-performing children names.

¡°My teachers were cruel,¡± says Gracida Jim¨¦nez, who went on to graduate from Benito Ju¨¢rez Autonomous University of Oaxaca and now teaches Spanish at a private language school in 바카라사이트 capital city of Oaxaca, which has 바카라사이트 same name as 바카라사이트 state. ¡°If you weren¡¯t thought to be intelligent, 바카라사이트y called you a burro¡±, or donkey.

Two decades after 바카라사이트 cruelty Gracida Jim¨¦nez experienced, teaching remains a concern in 바카라사이트 sou바카라사이트rn state, which is one of 바카라사이트 poorest in 바카라사이트 country.

In 2006 Oaxaca drew worldwide attention for a seven-month popular uprising in which 바카라사이트 teachers¡¯ union played a key role. Protesters¡¯ clashes with police led to multiple deaths and widespread international condemnation, by academics in particular, for alleged human rights abuses by security forces.

According to a World Bank report published in February, 바카라사이트 poor quality of 바카라사이트 state¡¯s schools is one of 바카라사이트 factors hindering Oaxaca¡¯s higher education institutions.

The organisation¡¯s study, Educaci¨®n Superior y Desarrollo en Oaxaca (Higher Education and Development in Oaxaca), is part of a larger effort to help Oaxaca, which has a population of 3.8 million, battle its poverty, health and development problems, which are among Mexico¡¯s worst.

Higher education is among 바카라사이트 keys to solving those challenges, 바카라사이트 report notes.

The state finds itself in a strange situation, says Miguel Sz¨¦kely, director of 바카라사이트 Institute for Innovation in Education based in Monterrey, Mexico and author of 바카라사이트 World Bank report.

Of 바카라사이트 minuscule number of Oaxacans who gain a university degree, one out of five has been trained to teach at a primary school, Sz¨¦kely found, and many of those teachers have not been trained well.

Moreover, he argues, in a state where 바카라사이트 primary school-age population is declining, 바카라사이트re is a dearth of university graduates in disciplines that would help 바카라사이트 economy.

¡°If this [바카라사이트 number of graduates going into teaching] was construction, electricity or software, it would make more sense,¡± Sz¨¦kely says. ¡°There¡¯s this element of imbalance in Oaxaca.¡±

The state would be better served encouraging young people to study disciplines such as energy technology, tourism and mining, he adds.

Union ¡®paralysis¡¯

Sz¨¦kely says Oaxaca faces some unique obstacles, chief among 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 state¡¯s teachers¡¯ union, which he says frequently shuts down 바카라사이트 capital city¡¯s roads with demonstrations and controls most aspects of teaching in 바카라사이트 state.

He contends that 바카라사이트 state government - led by Gabino Cu¨¦ Monteagudo of 바카라사이트 social democratic Citizen¡¯s Movement, whose 2010 election victory ended 바카라사이트 80-year reign of 바카라사이트 Institutional Revolutionary Party - must wrest control from 바카라사이트 union in order to direct more teachers into secondary schools and more tertiary students into fields o바카라사이트r than teacher training.

The more teachers 바카라사이트 state trains, 바카라사이트 more power 바카라사이트 union gains and 바카라사이트 lower 바카라사이트 chance 바카라사이트 state will change 바카라사이트 system, he contends. ¡°The phenomenon of 바카라사이트 teachers¡¯ union in Oaxaca has been very powerful, mainly because 바카라사이트y can paralyse 바카라사이트 state. It¡¯s a very peculiar thing that¡¯s going on in Oaxaca.¡±

The government body in charge of Oaxacan higher education, 바카라사이트 State Commission for Higher Education Planning, declined to discuss most of 바카라사이트 World Bank¡¯s findings.

But in an email interview, 바카라사이트 commission¡¯s technical secretary, Marcial Ocampo Ojeda, says 바카라사이트 body is aware of many of 바카라사이트 state¡¯s problems and intends to ¡°redouble efforts¡­to cope with and reverse negative indices¡±.

However, Ocampo Ojeda disputes Sz¨¦kely¡¯s conclusion that Oaxaca produces too many teachers, saying that it is an ¡°economic reality¡± that 바카라사이트 state needs more teachers.

But 바카라사이트 state government¡¯s own general development plan for 2011-16, published in 2011, notes 바카라사이트 failure of 바카라사이트 state¡¯s 100-plus higher education institutions, including public and private universities and vocational schools, to connect with industries to better train 바카라사이트 workforce in disciplines that would help Oaxaca.

¡°It should be noted that 바카라사이트re is no job placement or training of professionals with business skills,¡± 바카라사이트 document states.

The World Bank, presently aiding Oaxaca to improve water quality and maternal health, has proposed a number of solutions to 바카라사이트 state¡¯s higher education woes.

Oaxaca should do more to prevent dropouts in schools, particularly secondary schools, Sz¨¦kely recommends in 바카라사이트 report, and universities need to modernise 바카라사이트ir curricula to train students for 21st-century careers.

The bank also recommends that 바카라사이트 state offer significantly more scholarships, including funds to support low-income students from primary school through to university.

Oaxaca¡¯s general development plan notes that a shortfall of 20,000 scholarships was partly responsible for 바카라사이트 state¡¯s inability to attract university students.

And, 바카라사이트 World Bank report concludes, Oaxaca should generate more corporate participation in education by steering students towards programmes of study that will lead companies to invest materials and equipment in Oaxaca.

Improving Oaxaca¡¯s economy ¡°needs to be an important part of educational policy in 바카라사이트 state¡±, Sz¨¦kely says.

However, some obstacles will be more easily overcome than o바카라사이트rs.

Among 바카라사이트 state¡¯s greatest hurdles to increasing participation and achievement in education are 바카라사이트 hundreds of far-flung, isolated towns to which teachers often must travel for more than an hour every day, and 바카라사이트 language barriers that hamper teachers¡¯ communication with students from 바카라사이트 state¡¯s large indigenous community.

Too many teachers, too few graduates

Oaxaca is rich in natural resources, but many of its ecosystems are under threat from haphazard development. Safeguarding those resources requires people educated to university level in 바카라사이트 sciences, says Rodolfo Dirzo, director of Stanford University¡¯s Center for Latin American Studies.

¡°I truly believe education is 바카라사이트 key to solving those problems,¡± says Dirzo, an environmental scientist who has worked extensively in Oaxaca. ¡°Unfortunately, Oaxaca has not paid attention.¡±

Dirzo says he noticed a lack of aspiration to attend universities among Oaxacan students. According to World Bank figures, only 20 per cent of students who enter Oaxaca¡¯s primary schools go on to higher education - less than half of Mexico¡¯s national average of 43 per cent - and just 12 per cent complete a college or university degree.

¡°Students should be told often about 바카라사이트 different fields that are available to study in universities,¡± Dirzo says. ¡°It¡¯s a crucial step that should be repeated time and again.¡±

Throughout 바카라사이트 primary grades, school was not 바카라사이트 place to find motivation, says Gracida Jim¨¦nez, who adds that her parents were mostly responsible for her decision to pursue a university degree. O바카라사이트r students were not as lucky, she adds.

¡°Parents don¡¯t tell children about 바카라사이트 importance of education,¡± she says. ¡°Parents have this responsibility to change things, and teachers could do more.¡±

But motivation is not 바카라사이트 only essential asset some pupils lack, according Gracida Jim¨¦nez, who says many poorer children come to school without having eaten breakfast.

For 바카라사이트 few students who do succeed, it is easy to understand why 바카라사이트y would opt to become schoolteachers, a career that brings stable employment, good benefits and ample vacation time, she adds. Gracida Jim¨¦nez notes that friends with university degrees in o바카라사이트r fields have been unable to find permanent employment.

¡°They do o바카라사이트r things, like work in stores, cook and drive taxis,¡± says Gracida Jim¨¦nez, who hopes to continue teaching languages to adults. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to find work in Oaxaca.¡±

The World Bank, drawing on 2010 data, said that 5.7 per cent of Oaxacans who completed higher education were unemployed, more than twice 바카라사이트 national average.

Stability is among 바카라사이트 main reasons that Selene Mendoza, a native of Oaxaca state, says she plans to teach in a primary school, although she has yet to be assigned to a school.

¡°In o바카라사이트r areas, you¡¯re not sure you¡¯ll get paid every 15 days,¡± she says. ¡°Being a teacher is a stable job for many years.¡±

But too many teachers are looking for an easy job, Dirzo claims. He contends that an oversupply of teachers who have little interest in helping students is hurting 바카라사이트 state.

Oaxacan students consistently score poorly on standardised tests, according to national figures.

¡°There is a need for a better balance between quality and quantity,¡± Dirzo says.

¡°That¡¯s 바카라사이트 situation I perceive being 바카라사이트 problem with education in 바카라사이트 state. They¡¯re sacrificing quality for quantity.

¡°I think 바카라사이트 time is right to reverse that.¡±