All young persons have the right to study and thus build their future. Therefore, our motto is “100% en el cole”- all 100% of youth in school. It reflects our aspiration that all teenagers have the opportunity to attend and graduate from secondary education. Currently, there are thousands of young people who are left out of the system.
The VII Report on the State of the Education (2019) revealed that, in 2018, 53.000 youngsters between 12 and 16 years were outside of the educational system: 8% of the population that should be in 7th to 9th grade (third cycle) and 23% of who should be in 10th to 11th or 12th grade (diversified education)[1].
There is a wide variety of issues that may cause a young person to feel the need or obligation to leave the classrooms behind and, with that, lose the opportunity to get access to better paying jobs and, therefore, a more secure future for themselves and their family.
Among the most influential factors, we highlight:
These factors tend to be related: for instance, it is in the poorest homes that the educational climate is lower, on average. And although teenage pregnancy does not only occur in low-income families, it is there that the early pregnancy more often implies that the girl leaves college. Access problems are also typical when there are no resources to solve these factors.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and the subsequent closure of schools and colleges, the lack of connectivity has turned into an important factor for student exclusion. Suddenly, not only having the technological resources needed to follow classes was important, but also living in a place where there is availability of good internet connections.
The Ministry of Public Education, Giselle Cruz Maduro, stated in August that about 90.000 students had not been in communication with their teachers in over two months[1].
It was also estimated that there will be 324.000 students who were not able to connect to online classes (almost 30% of the total number)[2].
This makes it very clear that there is still a long way to walk in order to achieve the “100% at school”.
[1] https://observador.cr/casi-90-mil-estudiantes-no-se-han-reportado-con-sus-docentes-desde-la-suspension-de-clases-presenciales/
[2] https://www.crhoy.com/nacionales/324-mil-estudiantes-finalizaran-el-curso-sin-haber-podido-conectarse-a-clases-virtuales/
What do we do?
- Annual Congress: since 2018, our congresses “100% en el cole” (100% at school) focus on the factors that cause or increase student exclusion. Together with the Ministry of Public Education and other institutions and organizations, we raise awareness around the problematic and present the strategies and solutions that are already being adopted.
The congresses of 2018 and 2019 were held in San José, due to the coronavirus pandemic, our 2020 congress was held through three virtual fora.
Apart from the congresses, our actions and activities are inscribed in the fight against various specific factors. Those are: