Catholic University, Lima

The Education Department of the Catholic University of Lima does research and lobbying to improve the quality of preschool education, thus preventing child homelessness and child labor. Professors work as consultants in the schools, in NGOs, and in the Peruvian government.

Until recent years, the federal government had no clear policy on preschool education, but since the mid 1990s, it has become aware of the need to teach young children. The problem, the University has found, is that this effort “from above” does not have a response “from below.” Poor families don’t know how to demand a quality education for their children. Many don’t know what makes for a good school. One of the first projects of the university has been to create spaces in which adults can learn about education -- and thus encourage it in their children.

The University also collaborates with community organizations in the shantytowns that surround Lima. In Villa El Salvador, professors advise the Casa de Juventud, where children and youth can go to do art, play music, or learn acting. At the beginning, parents didn’t approve of the Casa, because they thought that kids would just go there to be lazy, but everyone has now seen that the kids have become real role models in the community. Recently, they began to offer tutoring to younger children.

In the same shantytown, professors work as consultants for a mother-child program, where there is a playroom for small children and various vocational workshops for mothers. The program is run by nuns and largely staffed by volunteers from the University.

The University also pressures the government to reform outdated laws and policies. In 2002-3, one of their great concerns was with the state shelter system for “abandoned children,” because after the age of 13, the government throws orphans, abuse victims, and juvenile delinquents into the same shelters, without distinction.

A good paper on child labor and homelessness from the University is available at http://www.pucp.edu.pe/~temas/ninos.html(in Spanish)


Pontífica Universidad Católica, Lima
Facultad de Eduación

Avenida Universitara s/n, San Miguel
Lima

935 1902

Contacto: Miryam Ponce, mponce@pucp.edu.pe