Covid-19 in Peru: 7 million schoolchildren are still waiting to be able to return to class
Children lift their cell phones for a signal as they attempt to receive virtual lessons from a hilltop in the slum of Puente Piedra, on the outskirts of Lima, in June 2020. AP - Martin Mejia
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
In Peru, more than 600 days after the start of the pandemic, 90% of schools are still closed.
As early as July, the Peruvian government announced the gradual reopening of schools, but on the basis of the families' voluntary service and leaving the final decision to the local authorities.
As a result, four months later, 7 million students are still waiting to be able to return to their classroom.
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With our correspondent in Lima,
Wyloën Munhoz-Boillot
It has been over a year and a half that most Peruvians have literally been out of school, as only 10% of schools have reopened in Peru.
And while students are expected to take online courses from home, the majority of them do not have this option.
“
My 8 and 12-year-old nephews live in the jungle in an area where there is no network,”
says Rosa Huaman, whom I met in Lima.
They had to climb up a hill every day to get the Internet and be able to attend classes.
They eventually got tired and quit school a year ago.
"
Like them, 60% of Peruvian households do not have an internet connection.
A figure that even rises to 95% in rural areas.
As a result, according to an estimate made by the Ministry of Education last year, more than one in eight students has already dropped out.
And the current numbers are certainly much higher.
"Volvamos a clases"
For several months now, parents of students and international organizations like Unicef have therefore been alerting to the situation and its disastrous consequences. Not only in terms of learning, but also for the well-being and mental health of children and adolescents. For example, the number of miners with depression increased by 50% last year.
Milagros Saenz, mother of three children and spokesperson for the parents' collective "for a return to class" ("Volvamos a clases"), denounces the inconsistency of the Peruvian authorities. “
In this country,
” she says, “
everything is open
: casinos, shopping centers, restaurants… Everything except schools. While the pandemic is at its lowest, 80% of teachers are vaccinated, and science has shown that classrooms are not more contagious places than others.
"
Under media pressure, earlier this week, the Peruvian government revised its objectives and set March - instead of July - 2022 for all students to return to class.
But parents and others in the industry are demanding that the government detail how it wants to achieve this goal.
► Also read: Revival of Covid-19, overview of the pandemic in Ireland, Peru, Italy and Turkey
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