Education in Peru - Contest RESULTS

All students were given the task of  interviewing their homestay family, and any other member of the community, to find out about the education system in Peru as seen from Ollantaytambo. I offered a prize of 50 Soles (about $16) for the winning article. There were three judges - Vicki, Fanny and me - and we felt that there were three papers that stood out: Samantha Crozier, Danny Lopez and Johnny Lamont. The three judges unanimously voted Johnny's as the winning paper. Below is Johnny's article. Enjoy!

The increasing importance of education started in the cities, and like cellphones, TVs and tight clothing, it has spread to towns like Ollantaytambo. Families are willing to invest money in their children’s education, having faith that it will pay off for the family later. My mother, Maria, says that previous generations were expected to help in their parents’ occupation as soon as they come of age. “But now, more and more people are leaving Ollantaytambo and they need an education in order to succeed.” That education cannot currently be found in this town.  Those who can afford it send their kids to private schools in Urubamba, a town about 30 minutes away by car. The cost of transportation and school fees is out of reach for most, leaving them to go to public school. The highest achievers in the local high school travel to Cuzco to take a national exam that decides whether they are in the perfentage of Peru that will attend public university. A college degree is crucial to a life overseas that can support the family at home. Maria recounted how Julia Flores' six children (out of ten)live in Australia and are doing extremely well overseas in an environment that demands degrees. They sent back enough money for Julia to build a grand new house. That is the kind of success story that drives Maria to do whatever it takes to give her kids a good education, even if it means sending them to Urubamba.

The problem with the current education system in Peru is a lack of accessibility to good schools for ambitious and bright children, especially those of lesser means. Scholarship are almost non-existent for students of Ollantaytambo because it is so hard to contact distant schools and convince them that their previous public schooling did anything to prepare them for a private school education. This wasn't so much of a problem when there were jobs requiring no completed education, such as baking farming and construction. But the local economy is starting to swing in the direction of the service industries, and an education is required to find a niche in it. Hector and Marla’s son Pedro works in Cusco in tourism thanks to his parents sending him to school in Urubamba. But as long as the public schools lack credibility as institutions, and private schools lack the funding to provide grants and scholarships to those who need it, a majority of the population  of Ollantaytambo will struggle to climb the ladder of an evolving economy that is constantly increasing the value of a degree on a job application.