Exploring Bolivia's Student Curriculum And Classes

Bolivia's education system has a divide between rural and urban areas, with urban schools receiving more funding and resources. The country's public education system is lacking in terms of organisation and quality, with issues such as poor maintenance, inadequate furnishings and classroom materials, and teacher strikes. However, improvements are ongoing, and some public schools are supported by non-profit institutions, resulting in higher learning levels than the national public school average. The Bolivian education system consists of 12 years of schooling (primary and secondary), with students graduating from high school at the age of 17. The school year typically runs from February to November, with vacations in June/July and December/January. Students attend school from Monday to Friday, with each school day lasting from 8 am to 1 pm and including one or two recesses. Most schools require students to take 12 to 14 mandatory subjects, including math, physics, natural science, literature, art, religion, computing, chemistry, social studies, philosophy, languages, physical education, and music. In their last year of secondary school, students may attend military service to prepare for college. While the teaching methods are traditional, with in-class instruction and textbooks, the country offers a wide range of educational opportunities, including trade and vocational schools, academies of arts, beauty schools, and universities.

Core academic subjects

The Bolivian education system currently has a 5-year primary cycle (1st - 5th grades), followed by 3 years of intermediate school (6th - 8th grades), and 4 years of secondary school. The first two years of secondary instruction consist of an integrated program that all students follow. The Bolivian school year runs from February to November, with summer vacation in December and January, the two hottest months of the year. Students attend school from Monday to Friday, with each school day lasting from 8:00 to 13:00, including one or two recesses.

There are a few private schools that observe the U.S. September to June school year and usually also observe a full Monday to Friday 7-hour school day, providing meals, buses, and extracurricular programs. However, most schools in Bolivia do not provide meals, and most require uniforms. Most schools do not provide school buses either, and few provide for after-school or extracurricular activities.

The Bolivian public education system is lacking in terms of organization and quality, with schools often not well maintained and many lacking adequate furnishings or classroom materials. Improvements are ongoing, with many public schools being supported, maintained, furnished, and supplied by non-profit institutions. These schools are usually in excellent condition, and children who attend them thrive, achieving a higher learning level than the national public school average.

Due to the shortcomings of the public school system, there is a surge in privately owned institutes, schools, and universities in Bolivia. Foreigners moving to Bolivia generally choose to stay away from public schools and instead opt for private schools or universities.

Humanities

In Bolivia, humanities is one of two specialisations students can choose for the last two years of high school, the other being various technical fields. A baccalaureate degree is awarded upon graduation, which is necessary to take the university entrance exam.

In universities, humanities is broken down into different majors and grouped together in a humanities division within a college. A BA in Applied Humanities can provide a transdisciplinary education, combining professional skills in a focused area with the cognitive, creative, international, interpersonal and intercultural intelligence taught in the humanities.

The humanities can be defined as the study of humans in the individual, cultural, societal and experiential sense. Humanities classes are distinct from other major forms of analysis in universities, such as the social sciences, with their own distinct ways of thinking and observing. Humanities classes use interpretive methodologies, such as critical reasoning and philosophy, to contemplate ideas and seek wisdom.

Technical fields

In Bolivia, the final two years of secondary school allow students to specialize in either the humanities or one of several technical fields. Technical secondary schools in Bolivia are known as "núcleos".

In 2020, the Bolivian Ministry of Education formally suspended the school year for students, explaining that teachers would receive additional training for the remainder of the year. In practice, however, many teachers and students continued with virtual classes, especially for graduating primary and secondary school students. This was particularly important for students in technical secondary schools, who needed to complete their training in a trade skill alongside their regular secondary school studies.

The Ministry of Education and the Departmental Directions were concerned about awarding graduating students technical certificates without their completion of their final year of studies. Therefore, the Dirección Departamental de Educación (DDE) of Beni asked Alma, an educational NGO, to create an additional proposal for Beni’s 104 technical secondary schools.

Alma's diagnostic analysis of the state of Beni’s technical secondary schools found that the majority of schools in the Department of Beni and in Bolivia overall lacked the basic materials and certified teachers necessary to train students in the 20 technical specializations offered in the technical secondary schools. In Beni, there were 20 distinct specializations offered, including:

• Sistemas Computacionales
• Sistemas Informáticos
• Transformación de Alimentos
• Veterinaria y Zootecnia
• Gestión Ambiental Agroecológica

Alma offered to cover 7 of the 20 technical specializations, covering 61 of the 104 technical secondary schools in Beni. By grouping similar technical areas, Alma created 4 proposals based on practical micro-projects developed by pedagogy and technical specialists. These micro-projects challenged students to deepen their theoretical knowledge and implement practical skills.

The Bolivian education system has been criticized for its lack of quality teachers and relevant curriculum. This is reflected in the high rate of secondary school graduates who require additional courses to meet international standards when applying to university.

Extra-curricular activities

Extracurricular activities are not a common feature of the Bolivian education system. Most schools in Bolivia do not offer after-school activities, and few provide for extracurricular programs. However, some private schools that follow the US school system do provide extracurricular activities, alongside meals and transportation services.

The most common extracurricular activity in Bolivia is soccer, or 'futbol'. Children across Bolivia play in soccer leagues, competing on local fields as schools cannot afford their own.

There are also other extracurricular activities available in Bolivia, such as the Rotary Club and other exchange programs.

Higher education

The University of Bolivia enrolled more than 100,000 students in 1989 and faced a conflict with the Paz Estenssoro government over academic finances. The government acknowledged its intention to promote private institutions to counter the decline in academic standards resulting from open admission policies. This conflict led to student protests in 1988, with police intervention at the country's largest university, San Andrés University in La Paz, which had 37,000 students.

The academic year in Bolivia is divided into two semesters: from mid-February to early July, and from late July to late November. The Bolivian academic system offers bachelor's, master's, and PhD degrees. Bachelor programmes typically last three to four years, master's programmes one to two years, and PhD programmes two to four years.

The University of Bolivia offers degrees, while other schools provide technical training in various fields, including the fine arts, commercial arts, technical fields, and teacher training.

Overall, Bolivia's higher education system provides a wide range of programmes and disciplines, with affordable costs compared to other South American countries.

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