Transforming education in Latin America | Gloria Vidal | TEDxRíodelaPlata

Is a successful education system reform possible in Latin America? Gloria Vidal, former Minister of Education of Ecuador, tells us how they made it possible. Gloria has a degree in Education from the Catholic University of Guayaquil and a diploma in Teaching Skills from the Technological Institute of Monterrey. For more than 30 years, Vidal was a teacher of Language and Literature, Social Studies and Philosophy, in several educational institutions and was also Rector of Balandra Cruz del Sur School in Guayaquil. She was Vice Minister and Minister of Education of Ecuador and co-responsible for several initiatives such as the Ten-Year Education Plan and projects of great impact in the education sector. She chaired the Inter-American Committee on Education of the OAS, among other regional organizations and was Ambassador of her country in Argentina until August 2017.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

According to statistics, this was
education until 2005 in Ecuador.

The national average of schooling
was no more than 6 years old.

Six out of 10 children
could attend high school,

and even less finish it.

The budget allocated to education

was less than one third
than what other countries in the region,

like Chile, destined to the same area.

As you will see, we had on the one hand,

a serious problem of access to education,

there were not enough schools
for the children to attend.

Painfully, until before that year,
some parents said:

"I already gave you elementary school,"
a tremendously painful expression

they pointed to the impossibility
of access to high school.

Whether because there were
not enough schools,

or because they didn't have
money enough to send them.

Yes, you heard well: enough money,

and I'm talking about public school,

because until that time the school
had virtually become privatized:

a contribution was charged,
wrongly labelled as "voluntary".

And we all know what that means:

that if that contribution is not made
the kids could not go to school.

On the other hand, we also had
a serious problem

in the quality of learning;
the children who could make it

to school didn't learn enough,

They didn't learn what was necessary.

At that moment, according to
studies in the region,

Ecuador was practically
not even on the list

of countries that achieved
better quality in those learnings.

That same 2005, I was principal of a school

and I was happy in that school.

At that time, in December,
I received a phone call:

an old friend called me to tell me

they had asked him to be
Minister of Education

and he, in turn, called to ask me
to be the Vice Minister of Education.

I was so happy at school at that moment

that I answered no,
it was my first reaction.

Also, I'll be very honest,

I knew almost nothing about public policy.

And, in addition, before 2005

Ecuador experienced such a political,
social and economic instability

that none of the presidents that
was elected in that period could finish.

In that context, to join
to a team of people

that wanted to transform
the education system,

and to transform it long term,
didn't look like a good idea.

But I hang up and I thought about it:

I always thought that there is
nothing so important

in people's life like education.

So, against common sense, I accepted.

And I joined that team,
a multidisciplinary team,

a wonderful team, that started thinking

how we could transform education.

And we traveled the country,
and we talked to a lot of people.

We opened debate meetings,
until we could identify

eight points that worried
people to a great extent.

And with those eight points
we built an education plan

that we wanted to stand the test of time.

Then the next question was:

How were we going to make it stand,

facing this political instability?

We came up with an idea,
and that was a referendum,

so we move this concern and
we achieved that the same year

in which we would elect new President,

an additional ballot would be included

in which you could vote for
the 10 Year Education Plan,

this ten-year plan.

So when you went to vote you had a ballot

in which you voted for president

and a ballot in which you voted
for the 10 Year Education Plan.

In addition, we visited each candidate
and we ask them that,

if the plan was elected,

with the approval of the people,
they made it their own plan

and make it happen, because,
if people voted for it,

it would be mandatory.

On November 26, 2006,
the 10 Year Education Plan

was approved in Ecuador.

Our mission was over,
all that wonderful team

could go home and leave
with the satisfaction

of a mission accomplished,

the goals they have come together for.

However, at that time,

something absolutely unexpected happened:

the President elect called the minister

and asked him and the team to stay,

to carry out the plan.

You know, that moment a dream comes true?

Well, this was it,
we had fulfilled a dream.

We were going to carry out the plan.

And so it was, the team stayed
and I was vice minister until 2010,

year in which I agreed to be
minister until 2013.

They were years of intense work,
very intense, very committed.

And this is not my story,

nor is the story of
a small group of people,

it's the history of a country
that decided to push

a transformation in education.

What happened during all those years?

Well, the story isn't conflict-free.

Of course there are always oppositions,

and in fact there were.

There were strikes, trials, threats.

Because when you really go
for a transformation,

you touch resistances, powers,
the power of some and others,

the spheres of influence
of some and others.

But beyond that, with joy

and with the support of
the majority of people

we could transform education.

You will ask, "what happened?"

Let me tell you:

Education was again free
in all levels and modalities.

97 percent of the children
in the right age

could make it to high school

and around 75 percent can finish it today.

Of course, as you will see, there's still
a long way to go for the country.

The schools could be repaired,

could be equipped,

to have sports courts, laboratories.

Teachers who didn't have any training,

who didn't have a professional
development as a teacher,

they could have it, their salaries
were recomposed.

On top of that we achieved
an additional participation

in the State budget:

the budget in education was tripled.

(Applause)

And with all this we had three
great lessons to learn,

which are three very important lessons.

The first one is that

a transformation in education
is possible in Latin America.

It can be achieved, it can be done,

we don't have to travel a lot
or go far away

to find recipes
in other parts of the world.

Transformations are achieved and
they can be done in Latin America.

The second lesson we learned
is that those transformations

are possible only if
they are perceived as systemic,

that is, that must be carried out
in all parts of the system,

not to isolated parts of the system.

And to explain myself better:

sometimes we think that
the transformation in education

happens when you change the curricula,

sometimes we think that
it's about having new books

but, in reality, the transformation
occurs when we don't leave

any of the gears of the education system

untouched.

All those that move, rotate,

give life to the next gear,
they are the ones that produce

a transformation in education.

A law is very important,

but if that law doesn't later translate
into the curricula,

if the study plans don't impact
in the initial training of teachers,

if those teachers don't receive training,

if we don't equip the fifth grade laboratory
with what is needed

for natural sciences,

all this remains simply on paper.

(Applause)

These eight points that we identified

to make the 10-Year Education Plan

referred to everything I just told you.

The first four points
were the levels of learning:

kindergarten, primary school,
high school and the incorporation

of those adults who didn't finish
their education.

The fifth, the need to have the necessary
and sufficient infrastructure

to be able to accommodate all the children

who would like to be and
need to be in school.

The sixth, perhaps the most complicated,

is to improve the quality of learning.

The seventh, those that make possible
this way, the teachers, right?

The ones central to the process.

And the eighth was money.

With the approved plan,
with the plan carried forward,

the transformation in education
occurred and is underway,

it still goes on today and hopefully
for the next ten years

Ecuador keeps talking about education,
in order to criticize it, to improve it,

to reactivate it, to make it
every time the most important.

Because I want you
to go with this idea:

there's never going to be
anything more important

and transformative to both
the life of a person and a society

than education.

Yes, of course it's like that,

but also think about it,

it's the only thing that
will set them truly free.

Thank you.

(Applause)