Peru EDUCATION, LANGUAGE, AND LITERACY
A street in the town of Huaraz, Ancash Department
Courtesy Inter-American Development Bank
A school scene in Cusco
Courtesy Karen R. Sagstetter
Educational System
In Peru schooling is regarded as the sine qua non of
progress
and the key to personal advancement. In 1988 there were
over
27,600 primary schools in Peru, one for virtually every
hamlet
with over 200 persons throughout the country (see
table 7,
Appendix). It is no exaggeration to say that the presence
of a
village school and teacher is considered by the poor as
the most
important first step on the road to "progress" out of
poverty and
a state of disrespect, if not for themselves, for their
children.
Because of the historical ethnic and racial discrimination
against native peoples, the village school became the
instrument
and method by which one could learn Spanish, the most
important
step toward reducing one's "visibility" as an identifiable
object
of denigration and being able to gain mobility out of the
native
American caste. The primary school also has provided the
means to
become a recognized citizen because the exercise of
citizenship
and access to state services require (in fact, if not
officially)
a basic ability to use written and spoken Spanish. Thus,
the
spread of primary schools owed much to the deep desire on
the
part of the native and rural poor to disassociate
themselves from
the symbols of denigration. The thrust of Peruvian
education has
been oriented toward this end, however subtly or even
unconsciously. School policies encouraged the discarding
of
native American clothing and language, and the frequent
school
plays and skits burlesqued native peoples' practices, such
as
coca chewing or fiestas, or equated indigenous culture
with
drunkenness and, often, stupidity and poverty, while at
the same
time exhorting native children to "lift themselves up."
The
opposite pole to being native American was to be Spanish-
speaking, urban, white-collar, and educated.
The influence of these educational policies is
reflected in
the currents of social change sweeping Peru in the second
half of
the twentieth century. In the early 1960s, Peru was a
nation
where almost 39 percent of the population spoke native
languages,
half being bilingual in Spanish and half monolingual in a
native
tongue. By 1981 only 9 percent were monolingual, and 18
percent
remained bilingual. In 1990 over 72 percent claimed to
speak only
Spanish, whereas in 1961, about 60 percent did. In 1990
Quechua
was by far the dominant native language spoken in all
departments, except Amazonas and Ucayali. Almost 80
percent of
Aymara speakers lived in Puno, with many bilingual persons
in
Arequipa, greater Lima, Tacna, and Moquegua. About 85
percent of
the population in 1991 was literate (see
table 8,
Appendix).
There are many technical and cultural difficulties
associated
with gathering and reporting information on native
languages.
Because of this, most experts have concluded that native
languages are significantly underreported with respect to
bilingualism. According to one study, native languages are
the
preferred means of communication even within those
households
whose adult members are bilingual. However, given the
force of
state policy in education and the many concomitant
pressures on
the individual, Quechua and Aymara will likely survive
largely as
second languages.
In the Sierra, where villages and communities are
famous for
their voluntary work, the majority of self-financed public
community projects have been dedicated to the construction
and
maintenance of their escuelitas (little schools)
with
little assistance except from their migrant clubs and
associations in Lima or other large cities. This
overwhelming
drive to change personal, family, and community conditions
by
means of education began at least 150 years ago, at a time
when
public education was extremely limited and private
schooling was
open to only the elite mestizo and white populations of
the few
major cities. In 1990, however, 28 percent of all
Peruvians, over
5 million people, were matriculated in primary or
secondary
schools, which were now within reach of people even in the
remotest of places.
In the mid-nineteenth century, aside from a few
progressive
districts that operated municipal schools, most
educational
institutions were privately operated. Individual teachers
would
simply open their own institutes and through modest
advertising
gain a clientele of paying students. There have been laws
mandating public education since the beginning of the
republic,
but they were not widely implemented. In 1866 the minister
of
justice and education sought to establish vocational
schools and
uniform curricula for all public schools and to open
schools to
women. The Constitutional Congress in 1867 idealistically
called
for a secondary school for each sex in every provincial
capital.
With constitutional changes and renewed attempts to
modernize, it
became the obligation of every department and province to
have
full primary and secondary education available, at least
in
theory, to any resident. Primary education was later
declared
both free and compulsory for all citizens.
The Ministry of Education in Lima exercises authority
over a
sprawling network of schools for which it uniformly
determines
curricula, textbook content, and the general values that
guide
classroom activities nationwide. Because of the importance
invested in education, the role of the teacher is
respected,
especially at the district level, where teachers readily
occupy
leadership positions. Owing to this tendency, for many
years
teachers were prohibited from holding public office on the
theory
that they would, like priests, exercise an unusual level
of
influence in their districts. The power accruing to a
teacher as
the only person with postsecondary education in a small
rural
town can be considerable: the teacher is sought out to
solve
personal and village problems, settle disputes, and act as
spokesperson for the community. Both men and women have
eagerly
sought teaching positions because they have offered a
unique
opportunity for personal advancement. In a nation steeped
in
androcentric traditions, however, teaching has been
especially
important for women because it has been an avenue of
achieving
upward mobility, gaining respect, and playing
sociopolitical
roles in community affairs that have been otherwise closed
to
them.
Higher education is hence greatly respected. University
professors symbolize a high order of achievement, and they
are
addressed as profesor or profesora. The same
recognition of educational achievement is given to other
fields
as well. Anyone receiving an advanced degree in
engineering is
always addressed as engineer (ingeniero) or
doctor.
The titles are prestigious and valued and permanently
identify
one as an educated person to be rewarded with respect. The
titles
are therefore coveted, and on graduation the new status is
often
announced in El Comercio, Lima's oldest daily
newspaper.
In 1990, in addition to its primary schools, Peru
counted
over 5,400 secondary schools (colegios) of all
types.
Although these too were widely distributed throughout the
country, the best secondary schools were heavily
concentrated in
the major cities and especially in Lima. There, the elite
private
international institutions and Peruvian Catholic schools
have
offered excellent programs featuring multilingual
instruction and
preparation aimed at linking students with foreign
universities.
The private Catholic schools throughout the country, both
primary
and secondary, have been highly regarded for their efforts
to
instill discipline and character.
Because it is required by law that each provincial
capital
have a public secondary school, such schools historically
have
come to enjoy special status as surrogate intellectual
centers in
the absence of universities in their regions. The
tradition of
strong high school alumni allegiance is pronounced, with
organizations and reunions commonplace and attachments to
classmates (condiscípulos) enduring. The importance
of a
high school diploma is further emphasized by each
graduating
class, which bestows honor on some personage or event by
naming
its graduation after them. High school graduates take the
selection of the class name as an opportunity to make a
statement
about things that concern them and choose one that
embodies their
thoughts. This custom is followed by university graduating
classes as well.
Because people correlate social and economic well-being
with
educational achievement, schooling becomes essential not
only for
its functional usefulness but also for social reasons. The
concept of education is infused with high intrinsic value,
and
educated people by definition are more cultivated
(culto),
worthy, and qualified to be admired as role models than
others.
Educated persons are thought to have the duty to speak out
and
address public issues on behalf of others less privileged;
many
students have accepted this responsibility as part of
their
student role.
The development of national identity is another area to
which
public education is firmly committed. In the wake of the
devastating War of the Pacific--in which Peru lost
territory,
wealth, dignity, and pride--the emergent public school
system
became the major vehicle by which citizens established
strong
linkages to the state. Primary and secondary school
curricula are
thus heavily laden with patriotic, if not jingoistic,
nationalism, elements of which are written into the
nation's
textbooks by the Ministry of Education. If nothing else,
the
primary school pupil learns that he or she is a Peruvian
and that
many of Peru's national heroes, such as Admiral Miguel
Grau,
Colonel Francisco Bolognesi, and Leoncio Prado, were
martyrized
on the nation's behalf by Chilean forces against whom one
must be
constantly on guard. Ecuador is viewed in this same tenor,
but
perceived as less menacing, constituting a vague threat to
the
nation's security or Amazonic oil rights.
The school calendar is thus filled with observances and
ceremonies honoring national heroes and martyrs, including
Túpac
Amaru II (José Gabriel Condorcanqui). Parades, drum and
bugle
corps (banda de querra--war band), and flag bearers
spend
dozens of hours in school yards preparing for the
celebration of
national holidays (fiestas patrias), national
independence
day affairs that are the feature of every district,
province, and
department capital each year on July 27 and 28. In Lima
the
tradition of fiestas patrias involves a major
display of
military forces and equipment accompanied by high school
units
parading the length of Avenida Brasil (Brazil Avenue)
across
Lima. Completing the essentially military focus on
nationalism in
the public schools is the pupil uniform, a military
cadet-type
outfit for boys that includes a cap introduced by the
General
Manuel Odría regime in the 1950s.
Data as of September 1992
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