- Broken Chalk drafted this report to contribute to Colombia’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Broken Chalk is an organisation that fights against violations of Human Rights and improves the quality of Education around the globe. This report will discuss Colombia’s main challenges regarding education and what issues could be Finally, Broken Chalk will offer some recommendations for Colombia based on the matters raised.
- In the 2018 review, Colombia received 211 recommendations and supported 183 proposals for adopting its UPR outcome. Those were related to the legal and general framework of implementation, universal and cross-cutting issues, civil and political rights, economic, social, and cultural rights, women’s rights, and rights of other vulnerable groups and persons.
- Regarding education, those recommendations focused on guaranteeing equal access to education, paying particular attention to children living in rural areas and minorities; implementing sexual education programs; enhancing literacy rates; and ensuring the enrolment of persons with disabilities at all levels of education.
- In 2018, Colombia was reported to be the second most unequal country globally because of an unequal model, malnutrition, and lack of access to education and health.[1] Concerning education, Colombia rates below when compared to OECD countries and other partner countries in multiple indicators, such as, among others, the adults with tertiary qualification; children enrolled in early childhood education programs; spending on pre-primary educational institutions; the share of women among general upper secondary graduates; enrolment rates between 6 to 24 years old.[2]
- As these indicators illustrate, there are evident efforts still to be made and improvements to be implemented to create a better education system which sits on the foundations of equality, inclusivity, and accessibility.
by Laura García
[1] UN General Assembly, 2018. Resumen de las Comunicaciones de las Partes Interesadas sobre Colombia, Consejo de Derechos Humanos. Retrieved from: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G18/061/12/PDF/G1806112.pdf?OpenElement
[2] OECD, 2022. Colombia: Overview of the education system, Education GPS. Retrieved from: https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?plotter=h5&primaryCountry=COL&treshold=5&topic=EO
Cover image by Photo by David Restrepo on Unsplash