GOB VOWS TO "DECOLONIZE" EDUCATION, THREATENING ACS

UNCLAS LA PAZ 001711 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR A/OPR/OS/CS BSCOTTI AND WHA/AND LPETRONI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASCH APER AMGT PGOV SOCI BL SUBJECT: GOB VOWS TO "DECOLONIZE" EDUCATION, THREATENING ACS ¶1. (SBU) Summary: After weeks of rumors concerning educational reform, Bolivia's education minister announced June 22 that the GOB planned to "decolonize" education to make all schools, public and private, equal. He declared the American Cooperative School part of a system that caters to a fortunate few and said it (or at least its privileged curriculum) would disappear. The minister indicated that the GOB would seek consensus before initiating change, but many worried that the government's plans could threaten the future of private education. End summary. ¶2. (U) After weeks of rumors concerning educational reform, Education Minister Felix Patzi announced in a June 22 interview with leading daily La Razon that the GOB planned to "decolonize" education to make all schools, public and private, rural or urban, equal. He explained that the GOB sought to "eliminate the privileges of the dominant caste and provide the same opportunities to all," arguing that education should be available without regard for class, ethnicity, or race. ¶3. (U) Patzi declared Calvert (also known as the American Cooperative School, or ACS) part of a system that caters to a fortunate few and said it (or at least its privileged curriculum) would disappear. He stopped short of saying the GOB would prohibit private education but said all schools should have the same curriculum. Patzi focused on social and natural sciences, which he said should emphasize "indigenous civilization" instead of the more traditional history of Bolivia's presidents and ensure children were familiar with natural resources so they could "defend and know that they have forests, wood, gas, and rivers." According to the minister, revised histories of "the indigenous and the conquest" would reflect Bolivia's "national reality" and transform children's way of looking at the world. ¶4. (U) The minister indicated that the GOB would seek consensus before initiating change, explaining that the government was considering establishing an advisory council at the departmental level or organizing regional committees in the western altiplano, the central valleys, and the eastern lowlands. Patzi also said he expected strong debate in Congress and the Constituent Assembly, admitting that the GOB had considered the form but not the content of the proposed changes. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: The GOB's proposal is vague and still in preliminary stages, but the announcement worried Bolivians and Americans alike, as many felt the government's plans could threaten the future of private education. Embassy contacts in Santa Cruz are particularly concerned about the fate of their children's private religious schooling. The Embassy is coordinating with the British and German international schools and will monitor this matter closely. End comment. GREENLEE