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Students Strike for Admission to Teachers Institute

Posted: Mikaela on Mar 25 | Education & Youth

Applicants denied entry to national teachers colleges despite qualifying test scores are mounting increasingly drastic protests as they seek admittance. The Bolivian government confirmed that it had increased the admissions quotas in the teaching institutes.

“The protest began at the beginning of this month [March] and will continue to the ultimate consequence. If we have to leave in coffins, we will do it. We ask the police to not intervene in the hunger strike (already in its ninth day) because the youth are ready to set themselves on fire” explained a representative of the protesters, V ictor Moldes. He added that there were 150 strikers.

According to Moldes, three students arrived with gasoline to carry out the threat. “One is from the school in Warisata, the other is from Simon Bolivar and the third is from Oruro.”
On Tuesday, the students renewed the protest march begun in Patacamaya directed toward the government’s headquarters. However, when they blocked the road at the height of Villa Remedios on the route between La Paz and Oruro, they were dispersed by the police with tear gas.

The Vice-Minister of Higher Education, Diego Pari, said in a press conference that they had increased the admissions quotas. “Where initially 35 students were admitted, now the 70 students that had the best grades will be admitted, as in the case of El Alto and Simon Bolivar. However, we can’t increase the quotas any more because we don’t have the capacity.”

Moldes questioned the move because it doesn’t guarantee the admittance of students that have scored above 51 points on the admissions test.  Fifty-four thousand students took the admissions test, vying for seven thousand spots in the schools. This capacity has been increased to nine thousand.

To read more in Spanish, visit: http://www.la-razon.com/versiones/20100325_007042/nota_250_976483.htm

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