Some phases of educational progress in Latin AmericaMontgomery, Walter A. (Walter Alexander)
History
Some phases of educational progress in Latin America
Montgomery, Walter A. (Walter Alexander)
Education -- Latin America
On a basis of population estimated (1917) at slightly more than eight
millions, 725,000 were estimated to be illiterate, about 42 per cent
of the school population. Illiteracy is most rife in remote Provinces
of the Andes and in the Territories, sparsely settled and inhabited by
people of roving habits and poorly developed industrially. Under the
lead of the director general of the schools of the Province of Mendoza,
a systematic campaign to eliminate illiteracy was begun in 1916. It
was recognized that financial considerations made it impossible to
establish the number of primary schools which would be demanded,
certainly not for the many remote points where only the legal minimum
of 15 or 20 illiterates were to be found. Home schools (_escuelas del
hogar_) were therefore established, officially ranking as auxiliary to
the already existent schools, for illiterates of 8 to 20 years, and
offering as a minimum curriculum reading, writing, the four fundamental
operations of arithmetic, the duties of the Argentine citizen, elements
of ethics, and personal hygiene. Such schools may begin any day of the
year, and with a minimum of five pupils. Any person desiring to open
such a school must fulfill the following conditions:
(_a_) He must be at least 20 years of age, of good moral reputation,
certified by the chief civil official of his residence.
(_b_) He must speak the national language correctly and be able to give
instruction in it.
Such schools shall not be established at less distance than 5
kilometers from an established primary school supported by national,
provincial, or local funds, but if the school be intended exclusively
for boys from 15 to 20 years old it may be located at any point. Such
schools are to be visited freely by school and civil authorities, and
by persons designated by the provincial general inspectors.
Related in character to the _escuelas del hogar_ of the Province are
the _escuelas tutoriales_, established by national decree of 1916,
applying to all the Provinces and especially to the Territories.
In these schools, established at points designated by the National
Council of Education, any number of children not regularly enrolled in
the primary schools may be taught by private individuals who conform
to the requirements of primary teachers, and by teachers regularly
engaged in primary work. The latter, by special exception, receive
additional compensation for such instruction. The same law also
provides remuneration, to be fixed by the general council of education
of the Province or Territory for all persons, not teachers, who are
certificated to have taught illiterates, whether children or adults, to
read and write.
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