Improving Basic Education in Northern Peru

Ten-year-old Jossy Lopez walks an hour from her rural village to attend school at La Quemazón in northern Peru. She is an avid reader who likes to present her essays and stories in her Grade 5 class. Jossy and her classmates have improved their reading and writing skills with help from a project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

"Before the project started, many Grade 5 students could only read simple texts", says Jossy's teacher, Marilú Yovera. "Now even Grade 1 students can read more advanced texts and write well. Their reading comprehension and writing skills have improved a lot over the last few years."

The La Quemazón school obtained electricity last year, but some classrooms are still not connected, so students use lamps to read. "As a small rural school, we didn't have access to the same teacher training, classroom facilities, or study materials that urban schools have," says Ms. Yovera. "So this project has really helped us progress."

Through the project, teachers received training and classroom coaching on more modern and effective techniques. "We built our professional skills and confidence," says Ms. Yovera. "We learned how to make classrooms a better space for learning and how to motivate students. We are also making our curriculum more relevant to rural life in Peru."

Students in La Quemazón look forward to writing stories for the town's annual contest whereby the best stories are published in a book that other students read the following year. Students also read stories their parents write in a community book. "Parents come to class and talk about practical things in their daily lives, like how to plant rice,'' says Ms. Yovera. ''Teachers use that experience to develop lessons and reading material. Parents are really getting involved in their children's education."

Parents, teachers, school principals, and local government officials take part in the rural education board created through the project. They work together to develop and implement the education plan for their district. La Quemazón now has a library and a preschool to prepare children for primary education. The town also posted signs on roads, public buildings, and stores for the first time to surround children with words and reading.


La Quemazón is one of 125 primary schools in rural communities that receive support through the $7.5-million CIDA-funded project. More than 4,650 preschool children and primary students in northern Peru now have access to better quality education. Hundreds of teachers, principals and local government officials have received training and support. The project, implemented by Agriteam Canada, has achieved impressive results over the past four years.

"Schools taking part in this project have significantly improved their quality of education and literacy rates,'' says Pedro Villar, Director of Education Projects for Piura's Regional Government. ''They get much higher scores on standardized literacy and numeracy tests than those in other schools in the region or compared with the national average."

"The project has had a very positive impact on the primary education system in Piura," says Mr. Villar. "It has been recognized as an innovative and successful model that the government wants to replicate in other regions of Peru."