Panama university

Coclé Regional University Center

Dr. Bernardo Lombardo
Faculty of Education Sciences
Middle Level Teachers – Diversified

Jesús Gómez 2 - 733 - 747

ISSUE:
THE EDUCATIONAL REFORM (1974)

AIM:
Historically recreate the period of the Educational Reform that took place during
the decade of the 70s

Prof. Rómulo Pinzón

Education in Panama: Contributions, Trends and Impact

First Semester 2020

What was the Educational Reform called and during what period was it
created and carried out?

The period of Educational Reform began in January 1978, when the

president of Panama, Arístides Royo, and the Minister of Education,
Gustavo García de Paredes, presented a proposal that sought to reform the
Panamanian education system. This proposal was known as Educational
Reform.

What were the objectives of the Educational Reform?

It has been said that basically its hidden objective was to train students who
could be manipulated by the military government, which is why it was said
that this reform had strong communist tendencies. The basic points did not
differ much from those that are still discussed even today: number of
students per educator, working conditions, effectiveness in teaching.
It was the “beautiful face” of a formula that would take education to the last
corner of the Republic. But there were some details that were unclear.
“There were things that were not really consistent with pure teaching, for
example, saying that one thing was written with “O” for Omar and another
was written with “T” for Torrijos. Deep down, they sought to render a cult of
personality just as was done in Cuba with Fidel Castro,” explained Miguel
Antonio Bernal, one of the advisors to the teaching movement in those
years.
There were other things that were reprehensible. The uniform of a mustard
shirt and chocolate pants would change to one of a white shirt and blue
pants. The detail was in the “military-type” flaps located on the shoulders of
the boys' and girls' shirts. “They were seeking to form pro-military
generations, to reach the point of establishing the military, even, as a way of
life. This could not be allowed,” says Bernal.
What are your Philosophical and Doctrinal principles of the reform process?

It is possible to point out the different contributions to the reforming process

of Western civilization, such as, for example, the sophists and the character
little reproduction of the education they defended, and inevitably we must
refer to the classical philosophical trio of Hellas, Socrates (469-399 BC),
Plato (4 (27-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC), who raised the questions
and the philosophical and pedagogical foundations that have been the
subject of philosophical, political and ethical speculation for more than two
thousand years until today.

How did the repeal of the Educational Reform come about?

By September 1978, public school teachers protested before the

government demanding a salary increase and improvements in the
educational system. At the same time, they demonstrated against some
provisions of the Educational Reform, which harmed the working conditions
of educators. The government agreed to raise the minimum monthly salary
for teachers to $245.
However, in June 1979, protests began because the government failed to
fulfill certain responsibilities contracted with teachers in September of the
previous year. Different associations of teachers are the first to protest, and
their leaders are Marcos Alarcón, Gilberto Solís and Julio César Ortiz. The
República de Venezuela school became the headquarters of the movement.
Towards May 1979, the atmosphere began to heat up. The teachers already
have a group of leaders, led by Julio César Ortiz, professor of Philosophy and
president of the Teachers' Association; Marco Alarcón, teacher and general
secretary of the Association of Authentic Independent Teachers and Gilberto
Solís, president of the Association of Private School Educators.
 FROM STRIKE TO NATIONAL STRIKE

The trio assumed the vanguard on August 31, 1979, testing the existing
structure with a 48-hour militant strike, which three days later transformed into
a national teachers' strike.
They were pressured from all sides. The Comptroller's Office seized the
payment for the first half of September. “We started making collections. The
people came together to support the teaching cause,” recalls Dr. Bernal.
Doctors join this strike at the end of September. And on October 9, the great
national march for the repeal of the Educational Reform was the strong point
in favor of the civic movement.

The main mobilization took place in the capital at the República de Venezuela
school. Some media at the time estimated about 250,000 people in the
march, a figure that is still considered extraordinary today.
Negotiations resumed. The government understood that it was better to give
in than lose. And on October 31, 1979, a six-point agreement, among which
the repeal of the Educational Reform stands out, put an end to the conflict.
“Today, three decades later, education is experiencing another transformation
process called “Curriculum Reform,” which is beginning to generate positions
between the government and educators. The difference is that now the State
is led by a democratically elected president, and it is not the time for
impositions.

What Law Repeals Said Reform?

LAW 46 of November 20, 1979, by which the Educational Reform is

repealed and other measures are taken, was dictated by the national
legislation council and published on: 12-13-1979. This law consists of 6
articles which detail the aspects of this law that repeals the Educational
Reform.
What are the effects of its repeal?

It is necessary to think that it was a mistake to repeal the 1979 reforms and
that the consequences of that action are being paid now. 'The repeal of the
educational reforms delayed the country's education by 50 years,' said
Candanedo, philosopher and former secretary general of the University of
Panama. It is said that these reforms had nothing communism about them,
but for political and ideological reasons, the business sector and
conservatives of the time opposed them as a rejection of the Government.

We know that Panamanian society agrees that national education is going

through a crisis and that this consensus must be taken advantage of to make
improvements in this regard. The need to make some reforms is also
considered, however, to begin the transformation of education, governments
must begin by complying with the current law, which requires that 6% of the
gross domestic product be allocated to the educational sector.

The school community has a favorable disposition towards the modernization

reform, but in the implementation stage there is no commitment by these
educational actors. We find that the classes are predominantly traditional, not
constructivist. As a general conclusion, it is observed that there are historical-
cultural, socio-economic, philosophical and psychological antecedents such
as the Aristotelian-Thomistic and mostly North American influence,
paternalism, the indifference of the educational community, verifiable through
the results of the data. quantitative and qualitative, which mean that
educational reforms do not achieve the adoption and implementation of this
process.
It is evident that political movements influence decisions in education.
Therefore, the most important thing may be to know how to choose our
leaders well. Unfortunately, over time we have seen how national assets are
diverted towards the self-interest of those who govern, instead of investing in
structure and supplies for educational centers. Apart from this, education is
everyone's job that starts from home, so we must equally value our
responsibility as citizens and try to instill competencies, skills, ethical and
moral values in children who are the future of our country.