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Structure of the education system

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There are two levels of Peruvian education: basic education and higher education. Basic education can be broken down into three different forms: regular basic education, alternative basic education, or special basic education.

Regular basic education is further broken down into: pre-primary education (children younger than five), primary education (ages six to twelve and children are sorted into grades based on age), and secondary education (for children who have completed primary education and lasts five academic years).

Alternative education, similar in quality and purpose as regular basic education, is for young people and adults who did not have access, or could not finish, regular basic education. This form of schooling is the most flexible so that students may work while completing their studies.

Special basic education was designed for students with disabilities or require special attention in their studies. This form of education attempts to help integrate students into their communities.

Higher education is an optional form of schooling with two forms: technical schooling and university education.

Quality and reform of the education system

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In 2009, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), created by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, exam placed Peru last out of nine participating Latin American countries. Peru was found to have high rates of enrollment and graduation, yet graduating students lacked basic mathematical knowledge and literacy skills. In response, the government launched the Basic Education Project which focused on student learning assessments, creating and dispersing teacher evaluations, and training and monitoring school leaders. By 2018, the project has created and implemented four national assessments that gather student data to analyze learning, teacher evaluations that led to merit-based promotions (19,069 teachers were hired and 49,763 teachers were promoted as a result), and evaluations of school leadership to ensure quality education. Private schools emerged as a solution to low quality public education.

Beginning in the 1980s, many Peruvian families began choosing private over public schools for their children, leading to urban migration for these private schools. In 1996 a new law was passed that encouraged investment in private education, offering tax benefits to investors, and leading to a further surge in private schooling. Peru's emerging middle class and even poor families also began to opt for private schooling due to an influx in low-fee private schools. Low-fee private schools do not private the quality education that higher cost private schools do; low-fee schools are often adapted from small private dwellings, inexperienced teachers, and lack curriculum planning. Nonetheless, the majority of poor families are excluded from the private educational market. Corruption and bribery are rampant in private school admissions due to lack of government regulation.

Even a public education is out for reach for poor and rural Peruvian students. Rural students have a higher likelihood of temporarily or permanently dropping out of school to find work, usually in hazardous mining or construction sites, to provide for their families. Some children may need to travel three hours to get to school, some even have to walk eight hours a day. The same is true for teachers, and the long commute often causes a delay in class. In class, teachers are often overwhelmed by large class size (around forty-five students). Teachers are unmotivated and distressed also by low wages(the lowest of any country in Latin America) and a lack of government support.

Indigenous education *a new heading*

Indigenous students have lower levels of achievement in comparison to their Spanish counterparts. In the four PISA studies Peru has participated in to test learning outcomes in reading, mathematics, and science, ethnicity (as well as socioeconomic status) has been correlated with low academic achievement . Indigenous students are more likely to have to work while undergoing schooling, live in rural areas where quality education is lacking, and face language barriers which negatively impact learning outcomes.

Indigenous students are at a disadvantage because children learn more if they are taught in their native language. Indigenous languages have historically been suppressed and stigmatized by colonizers in replacement of learning Spanish, which has become the dominant language in schools (and the country). The recent movement to reincorporate indigenous languages has been mostly dominated by wealthy, educated Peruvians. Indigenous parents tend to not want their children to learn their native language in school since Spanish is required for high paying jobs and career opportunities. These parents condemn non-indigenous activists who try to force their own point-of-view on parents to shape perspectives of their own culture. However, defining Spanish as the dominant language in the education system leads to a loss of indigenous cultural identity and feelings of inferiority about indigenous peoples.

In 1972, the National Policy for Bilingual Education came into effect - a monumental step considering the teaching of any indigenous language was previously prohibited. By the early 2000s, indigenous and ally groups began to reintroduce discussion about Quechua language rights in schools. The State itself has done little in granting Quechua and Quechua-speakers the rights they deserve. The laws that have been passed have either been undone or are not implemented. Article 17 of the Peruvian Constitution states, “The government promotes…bilingual and intercultural education in accordance with the individual characteristics of each zone. It preserves the country’s various cultural and linguistic manifestations. It promotes national integration.” Nonetheless, Spanish is the language in schools, media, and by government officials which hinders indigenous educational outcomes.

Indigenous education Article Additions

*Opening two paragraphs of Heading "Criticisms of the Western educational model"

Omitting indigenous knowledge amounts to cultural assimilation. The government stigmatizes indigenous learning, culture, and language to assimilate indigenous peoples and create a more homogenized country. A study on Malaysian post secondary students found that indigenous children struggled with social and academic adaptation as well as self-esteem. The study also found that indigenous students had much more difficulty transitioning to university and other new programs compared to non-indigenous students. These challenges are rooted in the fact that indigenous students are underrepresented in higher education and face psychological challenges, such as self-esteem.

Globally, there is a large gap in educational attainment between indigenous and non-indigenous people. A study in Canada found that this gap is widened by the residential school system and traditionally Eurocentric curriculum and teaching methods. Stemming from the negative psychological impacts of attending residential schools in 1883, which were heavily influenced by Christian missionaries and European ideals and customs, a feeling of distrust towards Canadian schools has been passed down through generations. As a result of experiencing racism, neglect, and forced assimilation, the cycle of distrust has pervaded children and grandchildren, and so on. There is a continued lack of teaching of indigenous knowledge, perspective, and history.