Latin America's Long Summer Break

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Education is often proclaimed to be the great equalizer, the thing people turn toward to escape poverty. However, in Latin America, the education system does the opposite: it perpetuates poverty.

The massive strain covid-19 placed on schools combined with Latin America’s already crumbling education system ensured that poverty would plague a generation of students. Results show that the region’s schools simply aren’t prepared for a crisis. 

Universities expect enrollment to decline by around 25%, and in countries such as Bolivia, there is no education, in-person or remote, for an entire year. In the US, even though the quality of education has decreased in a remote environment, Latin American students are dealing with zero education for over a year. 

At the end of the day, wealthy families can deal with this extended summer break. Meanwhile, low-income families are left struggling to survive. Over an extended break, affluent Latin American families have been hiring teachers or creating learning pods. In fact, the World Bank estimates that losing this much learning time could cause a Latin American student to lose over $15,000 over their lifetime. Moreover, while private schools are retaining funding, public schools are expected to lose a significant portion of their budget, further harming low-income students. 

Inequality is already a pressing issue in Latin America, and the pandemic exacerbates that. Before covid-19, access to education was exponentially rising. However, just when equal access was on the horizon (albeit not equal quality), the pandemic struck, setting back decades of educational progress. 

Time spent learning keeps low-income students engaged in academics, setting them on a path toward a university degree and out of poverty. Breaking free from the cycle of poverty is already a challenge for low-income students; however, with decreased access to education, the challenge becomes nearly impossible for millions of school-age students. 

If governments want to deal with this long-term problem, rapid change is necessary. Governments must quickly invest in curriculums compatible with a remote format and train teachers for an environment where many kids aren’t used to technology. So far, countries have been doing the opposite, investing money in the wrong areas, failing to counter covid-related education issues, and reversing teacher training policies.

As the pandemic continues into a new semester of school, only time will tell whether Latin American governments create an educational infrastructure or sit back and do nothing.