Policies

Plan Estratégico de Infraestructura Escolar

Context

The Ministry of Education has been actively working to enhance the infrastructure and facilities of both municipal and private-subsidized schools as part of the full-day schools program (Jornada Escolar Completa, JEC). This initiative aims to ensure schools can extend teaching hours and improve their physical conditions to provide a better learning environment.

Solution

To address the existing infrastructure deficits and improve standards, the Ministry of Education launched the Strategic Plan for School Infrastructure (Plan Estratégico de Infraestructura Escolar) for 2014-2018. This plan was based on an assessment conducted between 2012 and 2014, revealing significant infrastructure gaps, particularly among municipal schools. The assessment found that around 20% of the 5,509 registered schools had precarious drinking water systems and substandard construction. The strategic plan focuses on upgrading these facilities to meet higher standards and ensure safer, more conducive learning environments for students at all educational levels, from pre-primary to upper secondary.

Analysis

Although the results of the infrastructure improvement efforts under the JEC and the Strategic Plan for School Infrastructure have not yet been documented, the groundwork established by these programs provides important lessons for replication and scaling. Emphasizing thorough assessments, strong government support, collaboration between public and private sectors, strategic planning, and scalability considerations can make similar projects successful in other regions. These actions have the potential to greatly enhance the physical learning environments, which can lead to improved educational outcomes over time.