MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivia opens three indigenous universities

The Bolivian government has opened three indigenous universities for Aymaras, Quechuas and Guaranis, and they will be linked to social movements, Education Minister Roberto Aguilar said

In a speech in the central region of Chapare, Aguilar said that the educational institutions are an “expression of the democratic and cultural revolution led by President Evo Morales,” Erbol radio reported.

Morales, an Aymara and Bolivia’s first indigenous president, took office in 2006.

The Casimiro Huanca university in the Chapare region will be located in the town of Chimore and will conduct its courses in the Quechua language, which is spoken by the majority of the people in that part of the Bolivian valleys.

Another educational centre, the Tupac Katari university, will be established in the altiplano region in the town of Warisata, near La Paz, where teaching will be carried out in the Aymara language.

The Guaranis in the Chaco region of south-eastern Bolivia will have their university in the town of Kuruyuki, in Chuquisaca province, and it will be named after Indian hero Apiaguaiki Tumpa.

Aguilar, Erbol reported, also emphasized that in addition to providing educational services, the three universities will have as their mission recovering the culture, languages and knowledge of the indigenous peoples.