Jump to content

Ministry of Education (Venezuela)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Venezuelan Ministry of Popular Power for Education (Spanish: Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Educación, MPPE) is the federal-level department responsible for organising the education system of Venezuela. In 2001 it was the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture, with responsibility for Culture and Sport being assigned to separate ministries on 14 February 2005 and 6 January 2007.

Administration

[edit]

The Ministry itself has four sub-departments, each overseeing different areas of education. They are the Department of Primary and Secondary Education, the Department of Higher Education and Research, the Department of Special Programs in Education, and the Department of Administration and Service.[1] The Ministry maintains strict control over the curriculum, meaning it is almost identical at every level across the country in all institutions; in 2009, even more curriculum control was given to a council that is run as part of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which prompted protests.[2]

There are two education laws in the country, the 1940 Ley de Educación and the 1980 Ley Orgánica de Educación. In 1969 the government also adopted decrees 120 and 136, with plans to reform the general education curriculum.[3] Since the entrance of the Chávez government, early-education reform took place to introduce "Bolivarian schools" that teach students up to the age of 14 in line with the principles of Bolivarianism and emphasize serving the country.[4]

There has been debate in the university community over curriculum reforms at this level; though university management staff agree that new laws may be needed to address deficits in teaching 21st-century information, they fear that any attempts to push reform through a Chavist government will take away what little autonomy they have from the powers many universities in the country reject.[2]

Since 1976, the Ministry has run the country's Open University to provide distance learning for adults.[5]

Ministers

[edit]

The current Education Minister is Yelitze Santaella.[6]

Ministros de Educación de Venezuela
Order Name Period President
1 Anibal Dominici 1881 - 1887 Antonio Guzmán Blanco
2 José María Ortega Martínez 1887 - 1888 Hermógenes López
3 Manuel Clemente Urbaneja 1899 - 1900 Cipriano Castro
4 Félix Quintero 1900 - 1901 Cipriano Castro
5 Tomás Garbiras 1901 - 1902 Cipriano Castro
6 Rafael Monserrate 1902 - 1903 Cipriano Castro
7 Eduardo Blanco 1903 - 1905
1906
Cipriano Castro
8 Arnaldo Morales 1905 - 1906 Cipriano Castro
9 Enrique Siso 1906 Cipriano Castro
10 Carlos León 1906 Cipriano Castro
11 Laureano Villanueva 1906 - 1907 Cipriano Castro
12 José Antonio Baldó 1907 - 1908 Cipriano Castro
13 Trino Baptista 1910 Cipriano Castro
14 Rafael González Rincones 1917 - 1922
1931 - 1936
Juan Vicente Gómez
Eleazar López Contreras
15 José Ramón Ayala 1936 Eleazar López Contreras
16 Caracciolo Parra Pérez 1936 Eleazar López Contreras
17 Rómulo Gallegos 1936 Eleazar López Contreras
18 Alberto Smith 1936 - 1937 Eleazar López Contreras
19 Rafael Ernesto López 1937 - 1938 Eleazar López Contreras
20 Enrique Tejera Guevara 1938 - 1939 Eleazar López Contreras
21 Arturo Uslar Pietri 1939 - 1941 Eleazar López Contreras
22 Alejandro Fuenmayor 1941 Isaías Medina Angarita
23 Gustavo Herrera 1941 - 1943 Isaías Medina Angarita
24 Rafael Vegas 1943 - 1945 Isaías Medina Angarita
25 Humberto García Arocha 1945 - 1946 Rómulo Betancourt
26 Antonio Anzola Carrillo 1946 - 1947 Rómulo Betancourt
27 Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa 1947 - 1948
1948
Rómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Gallegos
28 Simón Becerra 1952 - 1953 Marcos Pérez Jiménez
29 José Loreto Arismendi 1953 - 1956 Marcos Pérez Jiménez
30 Darío Parra 1956 - 1958 Marcos Pérez Jiménez
31 Néstor Prato Chacón 1958 Marcos Pérez Jiménez
32 Humberto Fernández Morán 1958 Marcos Pérez Jiménez
33 Rafael Pizani 1959 - 1960 Rómulo Betancourt
34 Martín Pérez Guevara 1960 - 1961 Rómulo Betancourt
35 Reinaldo Leandro Mora 1961 - 1964 Rómulo Betancourt
36 José Manuel Siso Martínez 1964 - 1969 Raúl Leoni
37 Héctor Hernández Carabaño 1969 - 1971 Rafael Caldera
38 Enrique Pérez Olivares 1971 - 1974 Rafael Caldera
39 Luis Manuel Peñalver 1974 - 1977 Carlos Andrés Pérez
40 Carlos Rafael Silva 1977 - 1979 Carlos Andrés Pérez
41 Gerardo Cedeño Fermín 1979 Carlos Andrés Pérez
42 Rafael Fernández Heres 1979 - 1982 Luis Herrera Campins
43 Felipe Montilla 1982 - 1984 Luis Herrera Campins
44 Ruth Lerner de Almea 1984 - 1985 Jaime Lusinchi
45 Luis Manuel Carbonell 1985 - 1987 Jaime Lusinchi
46 Pedro Cabello Poleo 1987 - 1988 Jaime Lusinchi
47 Laura Castillo de Gurfinkel 1988 - 1989 Jaime Lusinchi
48 Gustavo Roosen 1989 - 1992 Carlos Andrés Pérez
49 Pedro Augusto Beauphertuy 1992 - 1993 Carlos Andrés Pérez
50 Elizabeth Yabour de Caldera 1993 - 1994 Ramón José Velasquez
51 Antonio Luis Cárdenas 1994 - 1999 Rafael Caldera
52 Héctor Navarro 1999 - 2001 Hugo Chávez
53 Aristóbulo Istúriz 2001 - 2007 Hugo Chávez
54 Adán Chávez 2007 - 2008 Hugo Chávez
55 Héctor Navarro 2008 - 2010 Hugo Chávez
56 Jennifer Gil 2010 - 2011 Hugo Chávez
57 Maryann Hanson 2011 - 2013 Hugo Chávez
58 Héctor Rodríguez Castro 2013 - 2015 Nicolás Maduro
59 Rodulfo Pérez Hernández 2015 - 2017 Nicolás Maduro
60 Elías Jaua 2017 - 2018 Nicolás Maduro
61 Aristóbulo Istúriz 2018–2021 Nicolás Maduro
62 Eduardo Piñate[7] 2021 Nicolás Maduro
63 Yelitze Santaella 2021–2024 Nicolás Maduro

Financing

[edit]

The Ministry is in charge of all education funding in Venezuela from a budget provided entirely by the government, and subsequently how it is spent. This budget is typically about 15% of the entire government budget, and of this, higher education has the largest share, usually about a third of the whole Education budget.[1]

Pre-school and primary education

[edit]

State-funded preschools are free to attend, but are underfunded; private alternatives have taken over at this level of education. As preschool is not compulsory in Venezuela, many of those who do attend are enrolled at the private schools and as such are from wealthier backgrounds.[4] Primary schools are compulsory, and see good attendance, though more in urban areas than in rural.[4] No matter their public or private status, all schools in Venezuela are under the oversight of the Ministry.[4]

Secondary education

[edit]

Private education is particularly popular at the secondary education level.[2] The Bolivarian missions launched in 2003 were also seen as a success for providing outreach to improve literacy and university opportunities in rural areas.[2]

Higher education

[edit]

Universities have a certain level of autonomy and are allowed to receive funds from other sources, including private donations and from their research (e.g. patents) and other marketable pursuits, as long as this does not exceed the funding received from the Ministry. The ultimate responsibility for the management of the university also belongs to the Ministry, so universities cannot be independent from government control and the Minister for Education is able to take charge of all university activities if it deems necessary, including curriculum, research, policy, and the university management itself.[1]

Higher education facilities and individual students in Venezuela may also receive recurrent funding from the private sector for the establishment of scholarships or fellowships.[1]

In the 1970s, a program called the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Foundation (Fundayacucho) was started by the government to encourage external training in subjects for necessary vocations, sending many students to Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom. However, while tuition was paid for by the government at the foreign institution, no employment support was given in Venezuela, resulting in many of the students returning or staying in the countries they had been sent to. This also led to a shortage of trained professionals in the areas that were planned to improve the country. In the 21st century, Fundayacucho has instead become a government loan provider for students, but still provides loan forgiveness if students maintain a certain GPA.[8]

In 2012, the Ministry of Higher Education introduced currency controls on students, only allowing university students with approved permission to seek education or training abroad in certain specific degrees to exchange currency. None of these degree pathways are humanities or social sciences, and biology is not included, either.[2]

Research

[edit]

The standard of research in Venezuela has been described as "generally weak", with the system said to "not foster a research environment" at all.[1]

Institutions at large cannot maintain research projects due to a lack of modern facilities, and those who leave the country for education tend to remain abroad to conduct research. Academics who used to work in Venezuela have also left the country in a brain drain that has particularly affected the sciences because of the lack of funding given in Venezuela.[1]

The government also sponsors CONICIT (National Science Council), which provides highly competitive funding for any kind of research or further training and education.[1]

According to the World Education Review, in 2013 there were more Venezuelan scientists working in the US alone than in Venezuela, by 150%.[2]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Venezuela - Administration, Finance, Educational Research". education.stateuniversity.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Education in Venezuela: Reform, Expansion and an Uncertain Future". WENR. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  3. ^ "Venezuela - Secondary Education". education.stateuniversity.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  4. ^ a b c d "Venezuela - Preprimary Primary Education". education.stateuniversity.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  5. ^ "Venezuela - Nonformal Education". education.stateuniversity.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  6. ^ "Yelitze Santaella recibe MinEducación con una nómina disminuida y salarios de 5 dólares". Tal Cual (in Spanish). 20 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Maduro designó a Eduardo Piñate como nuevo ministro de Educación". El Nacional (in Spanish). 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Venezuela - Higher Education". education.stateuniversity.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
[edit]