{"id":27595,"date":"2023-09-02T09:57:30","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T14:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/paloma-valencia-says-teachers-strike-against-school-vouchers-is-a-kind-of-extortion-there-is-a-tough-survey\/"},"modified":"2025-01-08T11:55:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T16:55:03","slug":"paloma-valencia-says-teachers-strike-against-school-vouchers-is-a-kind-of-extortion-there-is-a-tough-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/paloma-valencia-says-teachers-strike-against-school-vouchers-is-a-kind-of-extortion-there-is-a-tough-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"Paloma Valencia says teachers\u2019 strike against school vouchers is a \u201ckind of extortion\u201d: there is a tough survey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Senator Paloma Valencia, of the Centro Democr\u00e1tico political party and author of the school voucher bill, published a harsh message on her official X account, the social network formerly known as Twitter, in which she accuses Fecode of being doing \u201ca kind of extortion\u201d with the national teachers\u2019 strike called for August 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">El \u00e9xito del bono escolar<br><br>Fecode anunci\u00f3 un paro nacional contra mi proyecto de Bono Escolar que tendr\u00e1 su segundo debate en el Congreso. Es una especie de extorsi\u00f3n: si aprueban el proyecto los ni\u00f1os del sistema p\u00fablico no tendr\u00e1n clases. Me parece que reafirma la importancia\u2026<\/p>&mdash; Paloma Valencia L (@PalomaValenciaL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PalomaValenciaL\/status\/1696177466442666221?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 28, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The teachers\u2019 strike has as one of its main demands the withdrawal of the bill that Valencia is leading in the Congress of the Republic. CNA Practice Test<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>You may read: <a href=\"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/attention-fomag-reforms-teachers-health-care-system\/\">Attention: FOMAG reforms teachers\u2019 health care system<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>This project proposes the creation of so-called school vouchers, which are nothing more than vouchers or checks that would be given to parents of school-age children to cover school costs -or part of them- in certain private schools. A strategy that aims to alleviate the costs of education in order to better prepare students academically. This is also the purpose of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.certbolt.com\/cna-practice-test\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNA Practice Test<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, school vouchers ended up at the center of a strong controversy between detractors and supporters, when <em>Ma\u00f1anas Blu<\/em> conducted a tough poll on the subject, in which you can still vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the poll it asks its users, without giving any prior context, if \u201cDo you like the project that proposes vouchers for low-income children to study in private schools?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">\u00a1Opine en <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Ma%C3%B1anasBlu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Ma\u00f1anasBlu<\/a>! <br><br>\u00bfLe gusta el proyecto que propone bonos para que ni\u00f1os de escasos recursos estudien en colegios privados?<\/p>&mdash; BluRadio Colombia (@BluRadioCo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BluRadioCo\/status\/1696519880034681124?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 29, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n\r\nSo far, 70.3% of respondents have said no, and the remaining 29.7% have said yes, for a total of 19,987 votes.\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"559\" src=\"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/paloma-valencia-dice-que-el-paro-del-magisterio-contra-bonos-escolares-es-una-especie-de-extorsion-hay-dura-encuesta-1-1-1024x559.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27217\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/paloma-valencia-dice-que-el-paro-del-magisterio-contra-bonos-escolares-es-una-especie-de-extorsion-hay-dura-encuesta-1-1-1024x559.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/paloma-valencia-dice-que-el-paro-del-magisterio-contra-bonos-escolares-es-una-especie-de-extorsion-hay-dura-encuesta-1-1-300x164.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/paloma-valencia-dice-que-el-paro-del-magisterio-contra-bonos-escolares-es-una-especie-de-extorsion-hay-dura-encuesta-1-1-768x419.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/paloma-valencia-dice-que-el-paro-del-magisterio-contra-bonos-escolares-es-una-especie-de-extorsion-hay-dura-encuesta-1-1.jpg 1199w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ma\u00f1anas Blu survey on school vouchers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><h2>What does the Bill on school vouchers say?<\/h2><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Bill 192 of 2022, \u201c<em>whereby the school voucher is created in Colombia and other provisions are issued<\/em>\u201d, has the following purpose:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo create the program of \u2018School Vouchers\u2019 defined as the <strong>voucher or check<\/strong> that delivers and finances the Colombian State to parents, or those who exercise parental authority, so that children and adolescents in condition of vulnerability, moderate poverty or extreme poverty so that [sic] they can access preschool, basic and middle school education in public or private educational institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><h2>Why does Fecode reject the school vouchers project?<\/h2><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The concern expressed by Fecode is that the implementation of <strong>school vouchers<\/strong> could lead to a <strong>privatization of public education.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This insists Mar\u00eda Antonieta Cano, coordinator of Fecode\u2019s national gender team, who affirms that the school vouchers would no longer guarantee <strong>public education, universal and with infrastructure administered and financed by the State.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>You may also read: <a href=\"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/the-magisterial-teachers-competition-is-in-the-final-stretch-all-about-the-composition-of-the-list-of-eligible-candidates\/\">The magisterial teachers\u2019 competition is in the final stretch: all about the composition of the list of eligible candidates<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Professor Cano, this privatization is manifested in the fact that, first, the school vouchers would continue on the path of <strong>reducing spending on education<\/strong>. Second, the teachers of these private schools would not be included in either of the two labor regimes of the teaching profession, with the result that the labor rights of this sector would gradually disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fecode also argues that by allowing public resources to be used to finance education in private or subsidized institutions, the inequality gaps that public education has contributed to reduce over the years could increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The union claims that the vouchers would not cover the costs of high quality private schools, characterized by high tuition and pension costs, but would be destined to cheap private schools, known as \u201cgarage schools\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Fecode, what the school voucher project really seeks is the creation of \u201c<strong>charter schools<\/strong>\u201d, <strong>the granting of educational vouchers<\/strong> (also known as school vouchers) or the <strong>use of public funds<\/strong> to finance private education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The concept of charter schools and educational vouchers are little known in Colombia, although they have a long history in other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><h2>Charter schools and vouchers: two long-standing models<\/h2><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Charter schools<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Charter schools are a type of educational institution that originated in the United States in the 1990s, and have been implemented with variations in other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Granting of Educational Vouchers or School Vouchers<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Educational vouchers, also known as <strong>school vouchers or educational checks<\/strong>, are a form of financing in which public resources are allocated to the parents or guardians of students instead of directly allocating funds to educational institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this way, they constitute a form of demand-side financing, to the detriment of supply-side financing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><h2>Arguments for and against school vouchers<\/h2><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The debate on the convenience of school vouchers is far from over. For Senator Valencia, \u201cit is a matter of poor and vulnerable parents being able to choose between public school and a private school for their children paid by the State\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Fecode, school vouchers could weaken the public education system, concentrate resources in private institutions and create inequalities in access to education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the heart of the debate is whether education is a <strong>fundamental right<\/strong> that should be provided, financed and regulated by the State to guarantee equal opportunities, or whether there should be more flexibility for families to choose different educational options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, it remains to be defined whether the institutions eligible to redeem the vouchers would be subject to regulations and standards similar to those of public schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Keep reading: <a href=\"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/water-cuts-in-bogota-today\/\">Water cuts in Bogota today<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The school vouchers bill, led by Senator Paloma Valencia, is one of the main reasons for the teachers\u2019 strike called by Fecode for August 30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27214,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_focus_keyword":"school vouchers","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_primary_category":"759","footnotes":""},"categories":[759],"tags":[776],"mc_distribution":[989],"class_list":["post-27595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employment","tag-article","mc_distribution-suscriptores-generales"],"acf":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27595"},{"taxonomy":"mc_distribution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mascolombia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mc_distribution?post=27595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}