Investments in educational infrastructure in the country He has evidenced improvementsbut has also faced difficulties, according to the report “Spaces that educate: Challenges in the Infrastructure of Education”, made with data from the FFIE Information System (Financing Fund for the Educational Infrastructure Financing) carried out by the Laboratory of Economics of Education (LEE) of the Pontifical Javeriana University, which highlights that of the investment of 4.84 billion pesos, 32.4 % Antioquia, Bogotá and Valle del Cauca, while 1 % were intended for Guainía, Vaupés, Putumayo and Vichada.
Investment in educational infrastructure is fundamental since it has long -term repercussions In social equityit guarantees that all communities, especially those that are in vulnerable areas have appropriate facilities to meet all the students’ needs.
In this regard, Gloria Bernal, director of the Lee de la Javeriana, mentions that “school infrastructure influences learning, motivation and student integral well -being. Well designed spaces inspire, optimize teaching and strengthen the educational community. ”
The report indicated that the beneficiaries of the investment were the students of Antioquia, Bolívar and Atlántico, concentrated in 26 %. On the contrary, the beneficiaries of the departments of departments such as Guainía, Vaupés and Amazonas were 1 %.
“As of September 2024, there are 3,115 projects, of which 60 % correspond to the call for improvements of 2021. These projects are covered a total population of 997,424 beneficiary students, of which, 43 % benefited from projects with new or expanded classrooms ”, The study indicates.
From the analysis of department infrastructure projects, the researchers discovered that, of the total projects reported nationwide, 58 % are finished and 16 % in work, 15 % are doing necessary activities to make the execution of works and finally, 11 % are at some stage prior to the resource turn.
For its part, the Lee de la Javeriana mentions in its investigation that in 2018 84 % of the educational headquarters did not comply with the NSR 10 resistance standard, 11.7 % did not have aqueduct, 17.8 % did not have electric service and 24 % were prone to natural risks such as landslides and fires, according to a diagnosis of the Ministry of National Education (MEN), evidencing the need to improve the need to improve the need to improve the need to improve the need to improve the need to improve Colombian school infrastructure.
Measures to take
According to Lee, in 2015 the FIFE was created with the purpose of coordinating the capacities, commitments and knowledge of organizations to overcome the challenges facing educational infrastructure.
Therefore, this Social Management team stood out in one of its reports that “to meet the registration needs by 2035 (preschool, basic and medium education) About 33,000 classrooms will be required additional class. “
In that sense, Lee emphasizes the importance of the role that the State plays in educational infrastructure and as its commitment affects considerably.
For this, it proposes priority actions such as the creation of a contingency fund for educational infrastructure in regions with lower investment, the periodic update of the Regional Educational Infrastructure Census (CER) in order to facilitate the planning and execution of projects taking into account the precise data, and, finally, the strengthening in the control and sanction mechanisms that avoid the pieces in the execution of works.
