Transforming education: the power of ICT policies - Commonwealth ...

Table 9: Indicators Related to School Infrastructure
Indicator Uruguay LAC average
Schools with potable water 98% 79%
Schools with enough sanitary installations 82% 69%
Schools with library 75% 53%
Schools with computer lab 42% 37%
Source: LLECE, 2008 (p.186)
Main Policies and Initiatives
Despite the solid bases of the Uruguayan school system, it still has many diffi culties to overcome. For instance,
secondary enrolment is much lower in the upper cycle (40%) than in the basic cycle (70%); and educational outcomes
are much more uneven than expected by society.
The more relevant challenges of the Uruguayan educational system in the short- and medium-term, are described
by ANEP as:
apple the consolidation of the democratic and participative institutional environment;
apple the implementation of processes to facilitate the coordination between the new agencies and entities created
by the new General Law of Education;
apple the sustainability of universalizing the compulsory primary education;
apple the improvement of quality, equity and pertinence of primary education;
apple the universalization of secondary education;
apple the reorganization of technical professional education;
apple the design of a new institutional framework for teacher training at university level; and
apple the enhancement of teachers’ professional development (ANEP, 2009).
At primary education level, the main policies and initiatives during the last years aimed to:
apple universalize the enrolment’s coverage (including preschool education, for children 4 to 5 years of age);
apple increase the amount of full-day schools (within the specifi c programme Programa de Escuelas de Tiempo Completo);
apple develop innovative pedagogical strategies;
apple design a new curriculum;
apple implement the educational components of Plan Ceibal;
apple universalize Physical Education (approved by law in 2007);
apple implement the Community Teachers Programme (Programa de Maestros Comunitarios, started in 2005 to improve the
links between schools and communities, within the framework of vulnerable social environments); and
apple help schools in a critical socio-cultural context (Cardozo, 2008; Azar and al., 2008; ANEP, 2009).
The more signifi cant policies at secondary education level were those related to:
apple designing and implementing a new integrated national curriculum (Plan Reformulación 2006);
apple developing special educational programmes to improve the access, permanence and graduation from secondary
studies, by reducing school failure, repetition, and dropout rates;
apple increasing the staff at school labs and libraries;
apple investing in school infrastructure and equipment;
apple implementing the Community Classrooms Programme (Programa de Aulas Comunitarias);
apple extending the offer related to the upper secondary stage, according to the labor market demands;
apple implementing the Solidary Summer programme (to make children participate in recreational and educational
activities during the summer); and
Case Study: Uruguay | 137