Presidential candidates and their educational proposals in Colombia
Daniel Lozano Flórez*
With the presidential election just around the corner, candidates and their campaigns are renewing their strategies to increase their voter base. Since winning the youth vote is key to tipping the scales, rhetoric surrounding education has become an indispensable tool for both campaigns. Hence the importance of analyzing the proposals for the development of the education sector put forward by the presidential hopefuls in this final stage.
Education in Iván Cepeda's Government Plan
In this candidate's platform, education is the central dimension that structures his social policy program. His proposed educational revolution views education as the most important factor in building territorial development and fostering human capabilities. From the perspective of a liberating education, he prioritizes teaching knowledge that cultivates critical thinking and the intellectual and moral growth of students. In this sense, education for peace, historical memory, and knowledge of the recent past are considered especially relevant, as they are essential for citizens to interpret the current reality and envision the country's future.
A crucial perspective on education presented by the candidate of the Historical Pact concerns education as a fundamental right. Undoubtedly, developing an educational policy based on this concept will reduce educational gaps and inequalities and ensure the continuity of the current government's educational policies related to accessibility, the creation of new spaces in higher education, free tuition, addressing the educational needs of local communities and students, academic freedom, teacher training, and professional development for the teaching profession. The right to education is the cornerstone of the educational revolution proposed by Cepeda.
In the platform of the candidate of the Historical Pact, higher education occupies a central place: it faces the challenge of producing and teaching the endogenous and functional knowledge required for territorial development processes, carrying out concrete processes and actions of scientific and technological innovation, and leveraging the resources of the environment, without compromising the life and well-being of future generations. Of particular interest is the development of rural higher education, which until now has been practically nonexistent in our educational landscape.
Furthermore, while acknowledging the importance of the private sector and its right to participate in the development of education in the country, candidate Cepeda's educational proposal prioritizes the defense of public education. He advocates for strengthening public educational institutions and the educational programs they offer to society, teacher training, improving the quality of education, and expanding access, especially in rural areas and regions where educational inequalities and gaps are most pronounced. Of particular note is his commitment to the public sector in developing rural higher education.
Finally, Cepeda's educational proposal conceives of education as a mechanism for integrating and adapting individuals to society. It proposes the formulation of a national education policy that ensures the progressive realization of the right to education and contributes to the formation and strengthening of people's social bonds. Thus, the social adaptation function that education must fulfill acquires special relevance in territories affected by social problems such as poverty, violence, unemployment, and social exclusion. Undoubtedly, for this proposal, education is an act of faith in humanity and an exercise in intergenerational generosity, inspired by freedom, hope, autonomy, and the wholeness of the human being, which should lead us to the universalization of excellence and prevent quality education from being a privilege reserved for members of the elite.
Education in Abelardo de la Espriella's Government Plan
Without a precise conception of education and without clear ideas about the purpose and objective of educational action, candidate De la Espriella's proposals begin with a reference to the content of instruction and the implementation of a curriculum reform. Specifically, he proposes prioritizing the teaching of certain values in order to form autonomous, disciplined, and competitive citizens, as well as the adoption of mathematics, science, critical reading, national history, and Stoic philosophy. He also proposes eliminating ideologies he considers extreme because, in his opinion, they are instruments used in schools to indoctrinate students.
It is imperative to focus on the instrumentalization of education that this proposed curriculum reform seeks to achieve, and its threat to academic freedom and freedom of teaching. The prioritization of specific knowledge and the elimination of that deemed “dangerous” suppresses the universality that scientific education has thus far enjoyed in primary and secondary education, as well as in the training of professionals in the liberal professions. The ideological proposal for social discipline suggested by this candidacy, applicable to both teachers and students, aims to standardize conceptions of society, culture, and power within the school context, legitimize government decisions, and regulate the conduct and behavior of those who comprise the educational community. This ideological proposal, of course, erodes freedoms, inhibits forms of opposition, limits the possibilities for resistance, and transforms schools and their members into instruments for exercising social control.
The proposed curriculum reform, by focusing education on the study and knowledge of prioritized areas, neglects fundamental areas for the development of critical thinking and the holistic development of students, such as political, ethical, and civic education, the humanities, the mother tongue, physical education, religious education, and the arts, among others. In this way, education is decontextualized, and an attempt is made to homogenize culture. The focus is on achieving results that improve the performance of students and educational institutions in national and international rankings, and on creating social structures that legitimize the exercise of power relations and forms of domination imposed by the national government.
Another component of this candidate's platform relates, on the one hand, to the development of a dual education model that would allow secondary school students to earn two degrees, and on the other hand, to the improvement of educational infrastructure. Regarding these issues, he proposes, respectively, establishing partnerships between educational institutions, the National Training Service (SENA), and businesses, and implementing a master plan for the overhaul of one thousand educational institutions currently managed by the public sector. For this overhaul, he suggests forming partnerships between public and private institutions.
This government program limits its intervention in addressing inequalities to creating conditions that facilitate students' completion of their educational paths and establishing short training cycles in technologies related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, bilingualism, services, and the care economy. It also suggests training individuals in productive fields, with an emphasis on tertiary education.
Regarding higher education, their proposal includes the creation of a virtual university at home, the promotion of technological and virtual education, the encouragement of private investment in science, technology, and innovation in public education through tax incentives, the provision of low-interest loans, and a merit-based program so that the most talented students can attend the university and pursue the program of their choice. This government program prioritizes education aligned with the labor market and promotes a mixed financing model with greater private sector participation. Undoubtedly, these are actions aimed at strengthening the privatization of education.
Finally, regarding teachers, candidate De La Espriella's platform proposes a merit-based evaluation and the awarding of a bonus when that merit is recognized. It is particularly important to note that this type of evaluation is not pedagogical, fosters unhealthy competition among teachers, and fails to consider the contexts in which educational processes take place—contexts upon which the results being evaluated depend. Therefore, not everyone will achieve merit; it will be exceptional and exclusive, and will not contribute to improving the quality of education. This proposal raises several questions, including: Will those who do not achieve recognition be penalized? What will those penalties be?
This perspective on education represents a setback in the development of education as a fundamental human right, because it focuses on training people for the labor market, without considering the knowledge and educational needs of local communities and students themselves. Furthermore, it limits academic freedom and freedom of teaching. The proposed single curriculum suggested by this candidacy reflects priorities rooted in the radical right-wing political project put forward by De la Espriella, which undermines the universality of knowledge and the integration of diverse perspectives circulating in society within schools. Moreover, the proposals to eliminate so-called “extreme” ideologies, deemed dangerous, and to implement merit-based evaluation could decimate the teaching profession and stifle the institutional development of schools.
*Sociologist, Master in Education and PhD in Political Studies, University Professor and researcher with the CLACSO network. Article originally published at: https://elcronista.co/opinion/los-candidatos-presidenciales-y-la-propuesta-educativa
