The return to school represented several challenges in guaranteeing the right to education and, above all, the permanence of children and adolescents in the 34 municipalities of Valle del Cauca by the year 2023.
The pandemic brought with it many challenges that, after the return to classes in 2022 and 2023, caused 3,120 students saw their attendance limited in person to educational institutions.
The alliance between Red PaPaz, Save the Children, Cinde, the Universidad de los Andes and Educapaz has been carrying out actions within the framework of the Vamos Seguros al Colegio project – sponsored by the Open Society Foundations – in the department of Valle del Cauca to contribute to the capacity of the educational system in guaranteeing the face-to-face return and school permanence of girls, boys and adolescents.
Vamos seguros al Colegio identified that 54% of the 880 schools surveyed in Valle del Cauca reported symptoms affecting the mental health of children and adolescents in 2022, being the most recurrent symptoms, stress (7%) and anxiety (5.3%).
In this regard, officials from the Valle’s Education Secretariat noted that efforts are being made to mitigate the effects on mental health.
Actions such as teacher training, the support of experts and the activation of care routes for cases of bullying, suicidal ideation and gender-based violence are essential to strengthen the well-being of students.
Symptoms
The schools reported that the main symptom of the mental health situation, in the majority of children and adolescents, was stress with 7%.
Finally, for Vamos Seguros al Colegio, educational institutions are safe environments in which work must be coordinated to ensure school permanence and the well-being of all girls, boys and adolescents.
The actors involved in this task must strengthen their capacities and promote the emotional well-being of students, beginning with the strengthening of teacher training programs on these issues.
Alexander Montoya, Save the Children education coordinator in Valle del Cauca, highlighted the actions that made it possible to determine the plans to facilitate a safe environment for classes and the participation of the institutions involved: “It was the opportunity to land this information on the community education, but also that they provide us with feedback on how they experience the safe return to school and how they experienced the situation at the time”.
Under the premise that schools are ‘safe and protective environments for children and adolescents’ through the ‘Vamos Seguros al Colegio’ project, these actions began to be implemented at the end of 2021 and so far in 2023 in order to To promote school retention, Save The Children seeks to strengthen families, the educational system, communities and local governments.
These findings are essential for local authorities to work together to strengthen the school infrastructure where children and adolescents go to study, as well as work materials and teaching equipment to accompany the learning process of children.
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