EDUCATION CODE OF 1955

Although the Educational Reform of 1955 is a 11, 1997.
fundamental milestone in the history of Bolivian
education, sufficient studies have not yet been 1. The MNR perspective and
carried out to know and understand in depth its Educational Reform
context of development, aims and objectives, Once the popular victory was obtained and the
pedagogical foundations, achievements, etc. government of Víctor Paz Estenssoro was
This work will try to approach us, from the installed, the MNR shows its ability to recover
general vision of the Educational Reform, to and translate the flags that have been raised in
one of its constitutive aspects: democratization, recent years, "it interprets the needs and
supported by the review and analysis of various desires of the proletariat, the peasantry, the
basic documents, especially from 1952 to 1954, middle class and the nascent progressive
as well as the Education Code. Boliviana, bourgeoisie" (Víctor Paz Estenssoro
approved in 1955. (VPE) :1953) and launches a series of
The essential text of this article is part of the measures aimed at the root transformation of
document EDUCATION AND THE the Bolivian State and society.
REVOLUTION OF 1952 IN Within these provisions, the following main
BOLIVIA, presented in he measures stand out:
Symposium: EDUCATIONAL REFORMS IN a) Universal suffrage (VII 21, 1952),
THE HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA, during granting all Bolivians, men and women, of legal
'49. INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF age, the right to participate in the electoral acts,
AMERICANISTS, held in Quito, from July 7 to
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regardless of their level of education,
occupation or income; This effectively
eliminates the old literacy requirement to be a
voter and incorporates the peasantry in the
electoral processes; Thus, the number of voters
increases from 200,000 to almost 1,000,000.
b) The Nationalization of the Mines (31-X-
52), which returns to the patrimony of the
Bolivian State the three main tin mines,
property of the "Barons" Patiño, Hoschild and
Aramayo; The Mining Corporation of Bolivia
(COMIBOL) is created, in charge of two-thirds
of the tin mining industry, with worker co-
management. This provision will consolidate the
leadership of the Miners' Federation in the
country's labor-union movement, within the
recently founded Central Obrera Boliviana
(COB).
c) The Agrarian Reform (3-August-53),
urged by peasant mobilizations, violent seizures
of farms and the crisis
generalized land ownership system, with the
basic objectives of: the abolition of peasant
serfdom, the liquidation of feudal latifundism,
the increase in production through agricultural
and industrial development and the promotion
of the internal market.
And finally:
d) The Educational Reform (1955), within
a series of social policies, with massive
investments in health and education, which also
recovers the attitude of the organized Bolivian
teachers, which for many years has been
promoting the adoption of new educational
policies and standards. .
To operationalize this decision, the government
organizes a Commission of prominent
personalities in the educational and cultural
field of the country. This Commission is made
up of twelve members: a representative of the
Presidency of the Republic, two representatives
of the Ministry of Education; two
representatives of the Ministry of Peasant
Affairs; three representatives of the Trade
Union Confederation of Education Workers; a
representative of the Bolivian Workers' Central;
a representative of the University Councils; a
representative of the Bolivian University
Confederation and a representative of the
Private Schools. This composition allows the
representation of various institutions involved in
the educational issue and, by the designated
people, a pluralistic character. At the same
time, the Commission has the support of the
different technical bodies of the Ministry of
Education, which contributes to the scientific
foundation of the proposals and involves the
personnel of said Ministry in the actions that
had to be carried out subsequently.
The chosen methodology has distinctive
features compared to other educational reforms
in other times and places. In this case, the
designated Commission carries out its work
over a period of just 120 days, during which it
holds round tables, conferences, interviews,
readings, etc., for Be
adequately informed and consult the opinion of
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various national institutions and organizations.
Subsequently, the sub formed commissions
(Bases and Purposes of Education;
Administrative Structure and Educational
Legislation; Study Plans, Programs and
Methods; Economics and Statistics; Link
between Universities and Pre-University
Cycles; and Workers' and Peasants' Education)
prepare their initial reports, which, debated and
enriched in plenary, will later constitute the
Bolivian Education Code Project, presented for
consideration by the President of the Republic
in January 1954. Paradoxically, despite its
importance, other concerns led to this project
remaining forgotten in the offices of the
Executive Branch for almost a year, until a
strong mobilization of organized teachers
demanded its approval. The cabinet reviewed
and corrected the text, and the Bolivian
Education Code was finally promulgated in
January 1955.
The general perspective of MNR education It is
marked by the conceptualization of the teaching
State, already incorporated in the Political
Constitution of the State of 1938, which
establishes education as "the highest function
of the State" (CPE 1961, Art. 186), "because it
is a right of the people and an instrument of
national liberation" (Bolivian Education Code
[CEB], Art. 1st.).
According to the vision of revolutionary
nationalism advocated by the MNR, education
is essentially considered a political instrument,
which is why those expressed by President
Víctor Paz Estenssoro emerge as the main
motivations for this reform, when appointing the
members who will make up the Commission. in
charge of preparing your study:
«Done those deep
transformations in the economic and social
structure of the country, the State, in its
institutions and in its orientation, cannot remain
within the patterns corresponding to the old
regime. It must also evolve in its functions.
Hence , education, one of the main functions of
the State, which tends to train individuals in
habits, norms, conduct and knowledge,
according to the needs of each era and the
interests of the dominant social groups,
requires a reform is imperative, in order to bring
it into harmony with the new relationship of
economic and social forces to which the
National Victory of April has given rise"
(VPE:1953).
Paz Estenssoro clarifies his position when
promulgating the Code:
«It is undeniable that in every society and
throughout all times, there is a direct
relationship between the orientation and scope
of education and the interests of the dominant
classes. (...) Each change in power relations
between social classes raises the need for a
'new education', because education in itself is
already an advantage for those who possess it;
it provides the new State with efficient servants.
..» (VPE, 1955).
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In this political perspective, "education, when it
becomes a monopoly of narrow circles,
becomes an instrument of domination," but
also, as in this case, it is possible to "destroy
the monopoly of education maintained for their
benefit by the dominant groups." to extend it to
all sectors of the population, mainly to those
today relegated, such as poor peasants,
workers and artisans, in cities, towns and
villages" (DS No. 03441).
«National education must be inspired by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and
guided by the nationalist and revolutionary
principles encouraged by the Bolivian
majorities; reconciling the dignity and freedom
of man, a universal humanist principle, with his
political duties and productive work, so that an
adequate balance of rights and duties exists
between State and Person" (CEB,
Considering).
So, education, coincidentally , has an
essentially
social, "of benefit to the spiritual progress and
material development of the nation", so it
cannot be reduced to individual achievements.
From the beginning to the end of the
Commission's work, this was a direction
expressly indicated by the President of the
Republic:
«Man as an individual is linked to the
community to which he belongs, since the
possibilities of his full realization are
conditioned by the fate of that community. To
improve man, we must improve the people"
(VPE:1953).
«With fundamental education that acts not only
on the student, but also on his family, and the
community of which he is a part, we will have
an effective instrument to improve the peasant
way of life» (VPE:1955).
"All Bolivians who benefit from education -
through the work of the State or as a result of a
comfortable family economic situation - owe
above all things to the national community"
(VPE: 1955).
The Educational Reform also aims to be a
response "from Bolivians for Bolivians." This
intention is indicated from the beginning and
subsequently enshrined as one of the bases of
the Code:
"It is national, because it functionally responds
to the vital demands of the country in its various
geographical areas, seeking its integration and
the solidarity of its inhabitants for the formation
of national consciousness through a common
historical destiny" (CEB, Art. 1o.,5)).
Thus, the President of the Educational Reform
Commission presents in his report of
conclusions the consideration that "this Code is
tailored to Bolivians and consulting our own
economic and social reality" (Diez de Medina,
1954), a complemented perception by the
President of the Republic:
«The Educational Reform to which we give
legal validity today is in harmony with what we
are and what we propose to be. It conforms to
the needs of an economically underdeveloped
country, with a population not only illiterate in its
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vast majority, but also divided by different
dialects and with human groups in different
states of civilization" (VPE, 1955).
The nationalism advocated in the Code is
related to the need to consolidate the unity of
the Bolivian nation, which is why it is
incorporated as an aim of national education:
"Invigorate the feeling of Bolivianness,
combating non-constructive regionalisms and
exalting the traditional, historical and cultural
values of the Bolivian Nation" (CEB, Art. 2nd.
8)).
Six years after the Bolivian Education Code
was approved, in 1961, a new Political
Constitution of the State was approved, which
incorporated the new guidelines of
Revolutionary Nationalism to the previous legal
provisions. In the educational field, it is
confirmed that education is "the highest
function of the State", giving it a general and
free nature, "on the basis of the single
democratic school." The state has, on the one
hand, the obligation to support
students and institutions with low economic
resources and, on the other, to exercise
supervision over all educational activities
carried out in the country, guaranteeing the
freedom of private and religious education.
These features are common to previous
legislation and also to contemporary provisions
of other countries. The distinctions incorporated
by the MNR They refer to the "promotion of the
people's culture" and the training related to its
political and economic definitions, reflected in
the following articles:
"Art. 187.-The State will promote vocational
education and technical professional education,
guiding it according to the economic
development of the country. Likewise, it will
promote fundamental peasant education in
relation to the Agrarian Reform.
Art. 188.- Literacy is a social need to which all
inhabitants of the country must contribute.
Art. 194.- The State will organize higher
education institutions, preferably of a technical
and scientific nature.
Art. 197.- (...) Dependent on each one (of the
Bolivia, mainly promoted by the liberal
public universities), an institute will operate for
governments, first, and, later, by the
the cultural, technical and social training of
governments of military socialism, after the
workers» (CPE:1961). Chaco War, the 1950 Census shows that only
It is the contribution of the MNR, linked to the
32% of the Bolivian population was literate,
structural reforms of the State, that relatesleaving most of them marginalized from the
education to the economy, presents it as a benefits of education.
social need, and aimed especially at workers Given this situation and the Educational Reform
and peasants, that is, at previously has been decided, one of its main objectives is
marginalized social groups, as stated. proposed
to incorporate all Bolivians of school age into
the Education Code. regular education and to carry out massive
Thus, the main legal provision of the nation literacy actions for illiterate adults, assuming for
incorporates the educational perspective itself an already popular motto. in various Latin
proposed in the Educational Reform, giving itAmerican countries: «FROM A CASTE
greater legal and temporal significance than it
EDUCATION TO A MASS EDUCATION».
had until that moment. Paz Estenssoro thus presents the consistency
of this decision with the general approaches of
2. The Extension and his government:
Democratization of Public «At this point in the march of history, and when
we are on the path to establishing an authentic
Education
democracy, truly incorporating all the
Although there were clear advances regarding
inhabitants of this country into national life, it is
the greater extension of public education in
anachronistic and reactionary to pretend, as
Popular Community Education -5| Page
some intellectuals do, that neither art nor Code is applied, we will be able to say that It is democratic and unique, because it offers
science are delicacies for the palates of the Bolivia is a great, truly democratic republic, for equal opportunities for common education to
multitudes and that they should remain having made knowledge and culture available the entire population without making any
reserved for the directorial elites . Our to its workers and peasants" (Diez de Medina: difference..." (CE, Art. 1st, 2) and 3)).
postulates with an evident social Table No. 1 School This democratization in education is
sense of extending the benefits of enrollment 1951 -1964 presented in pedagogical terms as a
education, not only in the “single school”; one of the main
Levels 1951 1964 Diff.
fundamental base, but also postulates of the New School and
intermediate and higher, for the Kindergarten that was assumed in Bolivia since
5.882 20.113 + 242%
man of the people, do not fail to Primary 199.619 500.000 + 151% the approval of the 1938
take into account the human Middle/Sec. 22.788 88.788 + 290% Constitution.
personality, as the objective of their Literacy 12.530 The Educational Reform assumes
action. They open countless Totals 228.000 622.309 +173% this provision, since it considers that
possibilities of intellectual "the Constitutional principle of the
Sources: Educational statistics presented to the Educational Reform Commission of 1955,
development for an infinitely greater in Cajías, Huáscar: Personal Archive. Ministry of Education and Culture, single school means the unitary and
number of individuals» (VPE: "Education in Bolivia", La Paz, 1967 coordinated orientation of education
1953). 1954). in all its cycles and equal opportunities for all
It is thus hoped to promote a truly historic The Code takes up this challenge, incorporating Bolivians without any discrimination" (CEB,
change in national life and education: «Until the following bases: Considering). That is to say, democratization in
recently we were a democracy in name and a «It is universal, free and obligatory, because this perspective does not only imply the
plutocracy in fact. The National Revolution is they are basic democratic postulates and possibility of entering education for all
changing the historical and political process of because the individual, by virtue of being born, Bolivians, but that the educational system
this country. Tomorrow, when this Educational has the right to equal opportunities for culture. maintains a single orientation and
Popular Community Education -6| Page
offers the same education to everyone. This is marginality, that is, non-attendance at school data related to the scope of care provided by
what the Commission's work states: among the population aged 5 to 14, went from the national educational system.
«The National Revolution must overcome this 72% in 1950 to 36% in 1976, showing that this
state of affairs (the limitation in education), marginality, although it remains critical data, The recorded data shows the progress
implementing the postulates of the Single has been reduced by half in the 26 years that occurred regarding entry to the different
School that provides equal opportunities to between both Censuses, which would mean educational levels; Enrollment is significant
students ; progressive and harmonious that, in practice, the postulates of the at the pre-school level, which previously had
teaching in all cycles; material, technical means Educational Reform of 1955 achieved important very little significance, and at the secondary
and favorable circumstances to Table No. 2 Educational Establishments
level, showing that efforts to expand
train the future citizen in a 1951 -1954 the coverage of Bolivian education
were not concentrated exclusively on
productive function, enabling
Levels 1951 1964 Diff. primary education.
him to destroy class privileges
and turning him into an active Kindergarten 28 183 + 354%
and efficient element of the Primary 2.585 5.963 +131% Also in this case, the data recorded
Media/Sec. 110 387 + 252% expresses the enormous effort made in
national liberation process"
Literacy 213
(DS 03441). Bolivia to found new educational
Totals 2.723 6.746 +148% establishments, aimed at meeting the
Over the following years,
educational democratization objectives set by the Educational
Sources: Educational statistics presented to the Educational Reform Commission of 1955, Reform. The number of establishments
achieved significant results, in Cajías, Huáscar: Personal Archive. Ministry of Education and Culture,
some of which are presented "Education in Bolivia", La Paz, 1967 has a special increase compared to the
below. achievements. pre-primary level, with a strong
According to census data, educational This assertion can also be confirmed from other intervention of the

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private education, on which 94 of the 183 complementary and technical and learning and general life and work of adults and defending
establishments depended in 1964 (51%). recovery schools. and improving national culture. Likewise, given
Literacy, as a duty of the State, is a
Private education also manages 184 that illiteracy is especially concentrated in
progressive and participatory campaign,
secondary education establishments (47%), areas with indigenous inhabitants, it is
mobilizing the main social forces of the country
although its participation is lower at the primary established that "the literacy action will be
and using all levels and resources of the
level, reaching only 5%. carried out in areas where vernacular
national educational system. Your goals are
The democratization of education is not aimed languages predominate, using the native
not
exclusively at formal education , at school. The language as a vehicle for the immediate
Table No. 3
concern of the Educational Reform is also Comparative percentages of illiteracy according to age Censuses learning of Spanish as a necessary factor." of
directed at the illiterate population of the 1950 and 1976 national linguistic integration» (CEB, Art.
Age ranges 1950 1976 Diff.
country, whose high percentage shows a 115o.).
serious situation that seeks to be reversed in 15 -19 years 57 14 ___43 The actions developed achieve
20 - 24 years 58 19 —39
the shortest possible time. 25 - 29 years 64 27 —37 concrete results, as can be seen by
To this end, the Bolivian Education Code of 30 - 34 years 68 34 —34 comparing the relevant data obtained
35 - 39 years 70 42 —28
1955 incorporates adult education as part of 40 - 44 years 74 49 —25 in the 1950 and 1976 Population
the national educational system, "to make up 45 - 49 years 74 52 —22
Censuses.
50 - 54 years 76 58 —18
for the lack of opportunities in childhood or 55 - 59 years 76 61 —15 Although in absolute numbers, during
adolescence, repair the deficiencies of the 60 - 64 years
65 - 69 years
82
79
68
68
—14
—11
the 26 years illiteracy decreased from
primary and secondary cycles and expand their 70 - years and more 87 78 —9 1,109,271 to 993,437 illiterate people,
cultural level." and their ability to work" (CEB, constituting barely a 10% decrease, in
TOTAL 68 37 —31
Art. 15o.,2)). percentage terms the progress is
Adults will be served in literacy schools, significant. At a general level, Bolivia
teaching schools Sources: National Institute of Statistics, Results of the 1950 went from having a majority population
and 1976 Censuses are reduced to knowing how to
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read and write, but also include the improvement of
conditions
illiterate (68%) to 37%; percentage still very
significant, but it means a little more than
half compared to the previous situation.
Especially significant data are presented in the
age ranges of 20 to 40 years, which were
precisely attended during the MNR
government, with consistent decreases in the
percentages of illiteracy. However, we must not
fail to note that, taking the data by sex, the
situation is particularly conflictive for women,
who in 1950 constituted 57% of the illiterate
and in 1976 they represented 68% of the entire
illiterate population, showing the postponement
of women in educational care.
3. Some initial conclusions The
Revolution of 1952 radically transformed the
structures of Bolivia and marked its functioning
until the appearance of new political and
economic orientations in the 1980s.
In the educational field, the Bolivian Education
Code constituted the most solid legal system in
the entire history of Bolivian education, with an
enormous political impact that maintained its
wide popular acceptance for decades and even
now functions as a main flag in the struggles of
the unionized teachers, as a paradigm of the
duties of the State regarding national
education.
Its normative validity has been maintained
since its approval, but it lost consistency both
due to its partial and biased application, and
due to the introduction of superficial and
contradictory changes in the educational
provisions assumed by the Barrientos and
Banzer governments, in 1969 and 1972,
respectively. Contradictorily, to a large extent,
the bases of national education advocated by
the Code have been incorporated into the
current Educational Reform Law, presenting a
confusing situation by maintaining the vision of
revolutionary nationalism in a country with a
market economy and neoliberal policies.
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It is important to recognize that, almost since its
promulgation, most of the provisions contained
in the Code were not applied, preventing the
purposes, rules and structure from being
translated into reality with the initially expected
scope. A clear example of this situation is
technical education which, despite the various
efforts to promote it, continues to be a minority
modality in the country.
However, significant achievements cannot be
ignored in expanding coverage, in the various
educational cycles, by previously marginalized
populations, especially those in rural areas,
although until this end of the century it has not
been possible to guarantee all Bolivian children
the completion of compulsory primary
education, at least.
This is partly due to the fact that the Single
School was more concerned with equal
opportunities for access to education, but not
with equal opportunities in education.
educational attention. Gradually, the
development of the Bolivian educational system
leads to an increasingly sharp distinction
between urban education and rural education,
with clear discriminations to the detriment of
education in the countryside, where most of the
educational offer has been reduced to first three
grades of primary education.
Access was not sufficient, since, due to low
quality, lack of relevance, economic limitations
still in force, and other causes, educational
dropout reaches the point that only around five
out of every hundred students in rural areas
attend from first grade to last year of high
school. This massive desertion means that,
although the current rate of absolute illiteracy
has been reduced to 19%, within the
parameters of functional illiteracy, one in two
Bolivians currently does not know how to read
and write. The emphasis of fiscal education was
directed mainly at the extension of school
enrollment, largely neglecting the quality of the
education provided.
The first impulses to curricularly and
methodologically transform the educational
process in the perspective of an active,
scientific and national school, were truncated
especially after the fall of the MNR, while
education was immersed in routine and an
increasingly traditional practice. and obsolete,
with authoritarian, rote and repetitive features,
far from the national reality and disconnected
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from the daily individual and social life of
Bolivians. On the other hand, the nationalism
supported by the Code has as a consequence
the tendency towards national integration, even
despite the recognition of differences, causing
widespread Castilianization and uniformity of
school plans and programs. This situation is
currently rejected and the current educational
reform advocates, rather, intercultural and
bilingual education as one of its main axes.
These features, barely outlined in this article,
and many others that make up current Bolivian
education, have forced us to assume as a
historical urgency for the country a new
Educational Reform that, perhaps, can now
make all its postulates a reality.