La reforma educativa y la calidad de la educación en Colombia

Abstract

Upon assessing the quality of education in Colombian institutions, particularly in state-funded institutions, a disheartening perspective arises which is confirmed by the results obtained by students in international tests. One of the most important actors in the educational process is the teacher. However, it cannot be argued that the results regarding the quality of education in the different regions, depend directly on the teacher’s performance. A variety of external agents linked to the education process also prove to influence students’ results. One part of Act 115 of 1994 highlights the role of the teacher as a foundation for achieving educational quality in students. However, over time, different aspects have been observed to influence the quality of education. The educational policies adopted by the Colombian government including automatic promotion, school coverage, entrance to the teaching career path, leadership of institutions, dignity of teachers, among others, can shed light on why, even after an education reform was adopted, proper quality education has not been achieved, without the teacher being directly responsible for the consequences.