MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Education gap in Latinamerica and with other regions widening

IDB Luis Alberto Moreno admits education results evidence “is not encouraging”

Latinamerica and the Caribbean spend three times more in arms and fuel subsidies than in the learning gap between children from low income and high income homes, a sum estimated in 14 billion US dollars, according to the president of the Inter American Development Bank, IDB, Luis Alberto Moreno.

The sum said Moreno “sounds exorbitant in these hard times” but last year the region spent three times more in the Armed Forces and in subsidies to reduce the fuel bill, which represents 42 billion US dollars.

Although defence and transport have their room in the national budgets, giving 46 million children from the region the opportunities they should have, it could help better understand the long battle to reduce inequality, according to Moreno.

The big question is whether students in Latinamerica and the Caribbean can some day catch their peers in the advanced countries and “the latest evidence is not encouraging”.

In spite of the fact that access to education in the region has expanded considerably, the assessment tests keep showing that “the quality of our public education is several steps behind international standards.

“A third of our third grade students do not understand phrases that begin with ‘once upon a time’ and most of those in sixth grade can’t solve problems with fractions”, said Moreno.

Up to now all efforts had concentrated in improving schooling results for children above six years, “but for then it could be too late”, admitted Moreno.

“To ensure we can close the education gap, our governments and our communities must ensure that all children receive the adequate stimulation, as well as education, health and nutrition, before starting first grade”, said Moreno.

Many recent investigations show that the period from birth to the start of school is critical, “since 80% of brain development occurs before the three years of age”, said Moreno.