MEDUCA, find out what conditions schools must meet before March 6

In order for most schools across the country to open on March 6, they must comply with the comfort conditions for students, teachers and administrators, that is, places for teachers and students, with suitable temperature, adequate ventilation and lighting, with water and electricity. Internet service, as well as toilets and their own sewage drains, as indicated by the Ministry of Education (mediate)

According to MEDUCA, centers should have test and practice development spaces such as library, natural science, computer science, physics, and chemistry laboratories.

To this list of conditions, the educational entity adds that spaces for talent development, recreation, sports and culture must have a place within the school grounds.

Daniel Rivera, Director of Social Development Projects at CAF -Development Bank of Latin America, pointed this out “Improving the physical conditions of schools is closely related to learning as are other educational inputs, including the family environment, stimulation, good teachers, libraries, technologies, or services for students.”

Education quality versus infrastructure

In MEDUCA’s statement, it can be seen between the lines Investing in improving school infrastructure has implications for the quality of education In at least the following three dimensions:

• Attendance and completion of coursework.
• The school dropout rate in Latin America is 17% and is higher in rural areas, according to UNESCO.
• The physical conditions of school buildings positively influence course completion rates and increase enrolment, according to UNESCO.

An important fact revealed by the report is that teacher motivationEvidence in countries such as: Bangladesh, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Peru and Uganda indicates that teachers in schools with good infrastructure have an absenteeism rate 10% lower than teachers in schools with poor infrastructure.

The study found that infrastructure had a greater effect on reducing absenteeism than teacher salary levels or administrative tolerance for absenteeism. The study found that infrastructure had a greater effect on reducing absenteeism than teacher salary levels or administrative tolerance for absenteeism.

Over the past weekend, the Ministry of Education carried out a school maintenance day in regions such as: Northern Panama, Central Panama, Veraguas, Herrera, Chiriqui and Los Santos, together with staff of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP), the National Police and the Ministry of Government, from among other entities.