Minister Cuenca: “Virtual education could be the new revolution in education” / Perú País Digital

Press Release: 16/06/2021: The Minister of Education, Ricardo Cuenca, affirmed that with the experience acquired during the pandemic it is necessary to “imagine virtual education as a possibility of the new revolution in education and not as the attention to an emergency”.

To this end, he proposed establishing basic conditions to make virtuality possible; the management of technical-technological language, strengthening the digital capabilities of teachers; and the transformation of the concept of virtual education not only as the transfer of presentiality to technical means, but as a pedagogical alternative, a teaching and learning process in universities.

In his speech at the event “Route for the digital transformation of the public university”, Cuenca highlighted that the State’s response to the health emergency during the years 2020 and 2021 has allowed education to continue and move forward, despite the existing structural deficiencies.

The Minister of Education pointed out that the alliance with the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) has allowed the development of inter-institutional learning in this time of emergency and has contributed to specific issues for Peru and the construction of the public university of the future.

For his part, the director of UNESCO IESALC, Francesc Pedró, indicated that, through the agreement with the Ministry of Education (Minedu), valuable information has been generated on the effects of COVID-19 and practices to ensure the improvement of virtualized programs in pursuit of a transition to quality higher education.

Once the emergency was declared in March 2020, the Minedu offered public universities strengthening plans, technical assistance and financing for more than 520 million soles for the continuity of teaching. This allowed 100 % of licensed public universities to start classes remotely and reduced the interruption rate from 18.27 % in 2020-1 to 16.19 % in 2020-2.

Access the note at: Perú País Digital