Venezuelan student enrollments increased 448% in two years in Colombia

The social and economic situation in Venezuela has forced millions of citizens to leave the country in search of better opportunities. According to Migración Colombia, until April, around two million Venezuelans would be based in Colombia, border country.

This Wednesday, Laboratory of Economics of Education (LEE) of the Javeriana University, revealed an analysis of figures on the evolution of the enrollment of Venezuelan citizens in the official schools of the country.

According to the analysis, Between 2018 and 2019, the official enrollment record in preschool, basic and secondary education of Venezuelan students in Colombia increased by 488%, going from 32,213 to 189,382 students.

The analysis concluded that the increase in enrolled Venezuelan students may be due to three factors: the 36% increase in the number of migrants between 2018 and 2019; the lifting of restrictions on access to education; and a better record of the information of students from Venezuela.

For this reason, according to the laboratory, “it is important to design policies to achieve an integration of the migrant population and allocate additional resources to guarantee an offer of basic and secondary official education in conditions of high quality, inclusion, well-being and permanence.”

“Policies are required that generate an adequate inclusion of the migrant population not only in the educational system but in society in general, but additional resources are also necessary, both in physical infrastructure, as well as in educational material and teachers to serve all students. in high quality conditions ”, explained Luz Karime Abadía, co-director of the LEE of the Javeriana University.

Likewise, it was detected that the higher the grade in school, the fewer Venezuelan students enrolled in the Colombian educational system.

This last indicator could be due, according to the LEE, to the fact that boys, girls and adolescents are forced to bring a livelihood home; to have a revenue share for the sustenance of the home; or, also that they still exist difficulties so that foreign students receive the bachelor’s degree and present the ICFES.

For their part, official institutions around the country have been forced to adopt different measures in order to meet the demand and serve this vulnerable population.

“Venezuelan students have different needs and are a vulnerable population, which implies challenges in terms of the design and implementation of public policies”, says the analysis.

Due to the event, the analysis recommends increasing and targeting resources, especially in regions with a larger migrant population, in addition to carrying out campaigns against discrimination and xenophobia in institutions and conducting psychological support to these students.

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