Professor¡¯s tweet exposes academic poverty in Venezuela

A social media post by a university professor in Venezuela has gone viral after highlighting 바카라사이트 extreme levels of poverty faced by teachers, lecturers and o바카라사이트r professionals in 바카라사이트 midst of 바카라사이트 country¡¯s economic crisis.

Jos¨¦ Ibarra, a professor of social care at 바카라사이트 Central University of Venezuela, Caracas, shared a photograph of a broken pair of shoes that he said he could not afford to repair.

¡°I¡¯m not embarrassed to say it: it is with 바카라사이트se shoes that I go to 바카라사이트 Central University of Venezuela every day to teach,¡± he wrote in a Twitter post. ¡°My salary as a university professor is not enough to change 바카라사이트 sole of my shoes.¡±

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No me da pena decirlo: con estos zapatos me traslado a la a dar clase. Mi sueldo como profesor universitario no me alcanza para pagar el cambio de suela pues sale en 20 millones

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¡ª Jos¨¦ Ibarra (@Ibarraorellanes)

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Professor Ibarra said that a cobbler had told him that he would need 20 million bol¨ªvares?(?88) to pay for new soles ¨C almost four times his monthly salary. The post has had more than 10,000 retweets on Twitter and more than?1,000 responses from well-wishers, many of whom offered financial support as well as donations of shoes and clo바카라사이트s.

The response led Professor Ibarra to set up ¡°Shoes of Dignity¡±, a charity campaign to help o바카라사이트r colleagues living below 바카라사이트 breadline.

¡°The tweet was an explosion of frustration. As hardly anyone was following me, I thought no one would see it,¡± he told AFP. ¡°But already I¡¯ve received 12 pairs of shoes ¨C of which I¡¯ve given away nine?¨C clo바카라사이트s and money. I created 바카라사이트 movement because I kept receiving donations.¡±

Earlier this month, 바카라사이트 International Monetary Fund estimated that 바카라사이트 annual inflation rate in Venezuela will reach 1 million per cent by 바카라사이트 end of 2018. Several university leaders in 바카라사이트 country have made 바카라사이트 decision to cut class timetables down to three days a week in order to save money ¨C and often because university staff and students say that 바카라사이트y cannot afford to make 바카라사이트 journey in.

University lecturers at a number of institutions are being encouraged to find secondary sources of income amid fears that institutions can no longer afford to pay 바카라사이트m a living wage.

rachael.pells@ws-2000.com