The Education Ministry and UNESCO agree that the suspension of in-person classes has a negative impact on students and that every effort should be made to open schools when health conditions allow. In view of this, the international agency and Chile’s Education Ministry have convened an advisory group. Its main purpose will be to guide educational communities through a gradual, safe and voluntary reopening process.
Four focus areas
To date, 821 Chilean schools have requested permission to open their doors in order to gradually return to in-person classes, and 219 have done so. The Advisory Council, which will meet once a week, will focus on four areas:
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Monitoring the return to in-person classes and the information generated based on it.
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Reviewing and analyzing evidence regarding the impact of the prolonged interruption of in-person classes on children's development.
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Analyzing the development of the voluntary return plan in schools that have opened, identifying experiences, lessons and best practices.
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Maintaining a dialogue, consulting and communicating about the proposed measures and the implementation process for returning to the classroom and providing learning continuity.
“We share with UNESCO the assessment regarding the negative impact of prolonged suspension of in-person classes for millions of children and young people and the urgent need to open schools in places in which the health conditions allow for such steps to be taken so that they can meet up with their peers again and continue to learn. In view of this, we have worked with UNESCO to convene a working group that will allow us to accompany and support schools that are requesting permission to reopen and to guide those that choose a safe, gradual and voluntary return process,” stated Education Minister Raúl Figueroa.
Framework for the reopening of schools
“The role of UNESCO around the world and in Chile in this area is to contribute technical guidelines to the conversation so that education systems open their schools for in-person learning when health conditions allow them to do so following the generalized closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have suggested that these conversations consider the four main aspects of the reopening frameworks that UNESCO and other organizations recommend: safe operations, learning compensation, wellbeing and protection, and reaching the most marginalized. We are making all of our work available so that the parties involved can build trust, engage in dialogue and make decisions, always considering the wellbeing of children and young people in the search for solutions to ensure their right to an education,” stated Claudia Uribe, Director of the Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago).
Members of the “Opening Schools Step by Step 2020” Advisory Council
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Raúl Figueroa, Education Minister
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Enrique París, Health Minister
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Claudia Uribe, UNESCO
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Mary Guinn Delaney, UNESCO
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Paolo Mefalopolus, UNICEF
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Dr. María Teresa Valenzuela, former Director of the Institute for Public Health and member of the COVID-19 Advisory Council
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Dr. Humberto Soriano, President of the Medical Association for Prevention and former President of the Chilean Pediatrics Society
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Dr. Juan Pablo Torres, Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist
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Dr. Matías Irarrázaval, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Director of the Health Ministry’s Mental Health Department
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Jeannette Torrealba, President, National Rural Teachers’ Association
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Susana Claro, Professor, Universidad Católica
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Juan Pablo Valenzuela, Center for Advanced Research in Education (CIAE), Universidad de Chile
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Sylvia Eyzaguirre, Center for Public Studies
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Alejandra Arratia, Director, Education 2020
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Magdalena Vergara, Director, Acción Educar
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Cristián Balmaceda, Association of Rural Municipalities
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Carolina Leitao, Mayor of Peñalolén
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Pablo Araya, Director of the Gabriela Mistral Public Education Local Service
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Arsenio Fernández, SNA Educa