00:00Will churches or religious denominations have a greater role in charter schools?
00:05Did the Ministry of Education change the rules of the game in the hiring model?
00:09Yes. In August, a draft decree from the Ministry of Education proposed some changes.
00:14And, of course, questions like those arose.
00:17The discussion also progressed in Bogotá, where there are 35 institutions that operate under this scheme.
00:22Here, in 22 schools, where 26,000 boys and girls are enrolled, their contracts expire in December.
00:29But we at El Espectador confirmed that they will be extended for two years.
00:33as confirmed to us by Julia Rubiano, Secretary of Education for the capital.
00:36However, there is a discussion about the model that is worth breaking down.
00:41These schools, contrary to popular belief, are not private.
00:44Students do not pay tuition and enroll just like at any other school in the district.
00:49The State provides the infrastructure and resources.
00:52A non-profit operator, selected through a bidding process,
00:55defines the pedagogical proposal and hires the teachers.
00:59In return, he receives a payment for each student, as Jorge Valencia told us,
01:03Research coordinator of the Observatory of Education of the Colombian Caribbean at the University of the North.
01:08Who are those operators?
01:10These are organizations that must demonstrate some experience in the field of education.
01:14as Alianza Educativa, CAFAM or Gimnasio Moderno have done,
01:17or religious communities such as Fe y Alegría, the Salesians or the Marist Brothers.
01:21Wait, wait, before we continue this discussion,
01:24We invite you to write news in the comments to access the full report.
01:28In Bogotá, there are 35 out of 412 public schools, serving approximately 39,000 students.
01:35They were created in 1999 during Enrique Peñalosa's mayorship to open up places where they were lacking.
01:42Therefore, the regulation only allows them to be hired when there is a shortage.
01:46That is, when the State says it does not have places, teachers or infrastructure.
01:50How has this model performed for you?
01:51A recent assessment commissioned by the district followed students from Transition in 2010 through 2025.
01:58What did he find?
01:59Of every 100 students who start at a charter school, about 75 finish.
02:03Unlike the district schools, where only about 62 students complete their studies, according to economist Fabio Sánchez, one of the authors.
02:11The advantage does not seem to be explained by the fact that these schools receive better students.
02:16Juliana Márquez, another of the authors, explained to us that in Transition they arrive equal and the gap grows over the years.
02:22Furthermore, while in this model a student in a district school costs the system approximately 48 million
02:29of pesos,
02:29A college degree in Administration costs approximately 35 million pesos.
02:34But in this debate there is a sensitive point: teachers' salaries.
02:38Teachers in charter schools earn less than those in the district.
02:42While in a public school the average salary is 6 million 800 thousand pesos,
02:48In concessionary ones it is from 2.9 million to 4 million,
02:51according to data published by councilwoman Heidi Sánchez of the Historical Pact.
02:55Fabio Sánchez, also a research associate at the University of the Andes,
02:59He acknowledged that, while it is true that they earn less, this is partly due to their lower level of education.
03:04Omar Garzón, a researcher at the Laboratory of Economics of Education (LEE) at Javeriana University, mentions another point.
03:11There are schools where teachers have contracts for 11 months,
03:15while one from a public institution receives 12 payments a year, bonus and other salary factors.
03:21And there is another fundamental question.
03:23Between 2020 and 2025, public schools in Bogotá lost more than 77,000 students.
03:29If there are extra slots, is there still a shortage?
03:31To answer that question, we invite you to watch the full report in the Education section of El Espectador.
03:37And if you want to stay up to date with all the news in the sector, don't forget to follow us on our social media channels.
