Regional challenges of education for young and adult people were discussed by experts from Latin America: Following up on CONFINTEA VII

• The participating experts and government representatives proposed actions aimed at the governance and organization of the education of young and adult people.
   
• In Latin America, about 28 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate

Representatives from 17 Latin American governments, civil society organizations, universities, and educational institution leaders and teachers gathered in Santiago to follow up on the commitments made by the 142 UNESCO member states during the VII International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA), held in Morocco in 2022.

At the follow-up meeting on the agreements, held on Tuesday, November 14, and organized by UNESCO's regional office in Santiago and the Chilean Ministry of Education, participants proposed actions aimed at the governance and organization of the education of young and adult people (EPJA) to advance inclusion, relevance, and improve its quality. In the opening of the meeting, the Head of Education of the UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago, Valtencir Mendes, explained that there is still a significant number of people on the continent who cannot read or write, which is why it is essential to enhance education programs for them.

“In Latin America and the Caribbean, we currently have about 28 million young and adult people over 15 years old who are illiterate. Most of them are in rural areas, where 12.8% of the population is illiterate. We urgently need to move towards a commitment to the education of young and adult people, promote lifelong learning and advocate for a human rights perspective. UNESCO invites the countries of the region to prioritize the education of young and adults, providing resources, supporting trainers, and thus conceiving a new education that transforms society and shapes a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world,” Mendes stated.

Meanwhile, the executive secretary of Chile's Educational Reactivation Plan, Joaquín Walker, emphasized that the education of young and adults has a positive impact that goes beyond the groups it serves.

“Whenever we can advance in the education of young and adults, we can also improve the educational opportunities of their children. We see that there is a correlation. For example, of school dropout when parents did not complete their school stage. Therefore, education for young and adults is an end in itself, but also support for reactivation in general and to address other fronts that protect the educational trajectory,” Walker stated, who highlighted that this modality plays an important role in advancing “dignity and justice.”

After listening to the presentations of foreign experts and analyzing the situation of the different Latin American countries, the meeting participants proposed actions to strengthen the education of young and adults and defined the essential conditions for its operation. Among them, they mentioned the need for intersectoral approach, not just from the ministries of Education, adequate financing, availability of resources and relevant pedagogical proposals to respond to the diversity of people served by EPJA, strengthen and specialize teacher training, and ensure the working conditions of the teachers in the system.

The follow-up meeting on the CONFINTEA agreements concluded with a visit by the participants to the Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi, a place of memory that promotes human rights within Chilean society.

According to data from the latest National Socioeconomic Characterization Survey (Casen 2022), in Chile, there are 4,544,088 people aged 15 or older who are not studying or have not completed their basic or secondary education. Of them, 29% are under 50 years old.

The Chilean Ministry of Education promotes three types of educational offerings for this population: the regular modality, which is taught in Integrated Adult Centers (CEIA) and third shifts or evening sessions; the flexible modality for leveling studies, offered by public or private entities chosen through tenders and paid based on results; and the Literacy Plan Contigo Aprendo, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023 and works with adults who have less than 4 years of schooling.

Currently, 111,274 people are studying in the regular modality across 755 educational establishments, with 4,786 teachers working in them.

This year, the flexible modality is implemented by 129 executing entities, with around 35,000 people enrolled, while in the Literacy Plan Contigo Aprendo, there are currently 280 volunteer monitors working with 155 literacy groups, serving around 1,800 people from 15 regions of the country, ranging from the regions of Arica and Parinacota to Aysén. Upon completion, they can take an exam that allows them to continue their studies.