VENEZUELA
New steps forward for education
Jim McIlroy & Coral Wynter, Caracas
30 October 2006
“We guarantee that all Venezuelans will receive free education, to the highest level, as a promise of the revolutionary government. This [event] demonstrates the importance that the [Bolivarian] revolution gives to education”, Hugo Chavez declared on October 8. The Venezuelan president was officially re-opening the Andres Bello high school, situated in the metropolitan centre of the Caracas. The high school has been extensively renovated and upgraded to provide for a student population of 1700, the October 9 Ultimas Noticias reported.
On October 3, Chavez inaugurated 10 “university villages”, located in different regions of the country. The main ceremony was held in Ocumare del Tuy, in Miranda state, Ven-Global News reported on October 9. The Venezuelan government seeks to democratise education and connect students with the regions’ social needs, under the umbrella of Mision Sucre.
From the university village “Casa de las Misiones” (Mission House), in Ocumare del Tuy, Chavez proclaimed: “I wanted to tell you we are inaugurating 10 university villages for thousands of students. Some of these university campuses are located right here in Valles del Tuy.”
“We are building a new education model, a new university model”, Chavez said. Chavez explained that university villages are a leap forward in the consolidation of the Venezuelan social missions, especially in regard to the concept of the “Bolivarian university”. “It is the university for the people, there in the neighborhoods, like Barrio Adentro. University in the neighborhoods, for the people.”
