4 Presidential wannabees backslide on education

4 Four of the seven presidential candidates for the May 5 elections have not answered the call of the group  Youth United for Education (JUE), which in December presented an initiative with 19 proposals that seek to transform the country’s education.

In spite of that Laurentino Cortizo, of the PRD; Saúl Méndez, from the Broad Front for Democracy; Marco Ameglio, independent; and Rómulo Roux, from CD, who attended the public event in which the initiative was launched, where they even praised the document,  have not contacted the group of young people reports La Prensa.

JUE wants candidates to take into account what they propose in terms of management and investment, quality of education and teacher training. However, although they have insistently knocked the doors of the campaigns, they have not been answered.

Johel Batista, JUE director, asks those who claim to take the reins of the country have “consistency between thought, words, and action”.

Young people say they will remain vigilant, given that education is one of the determining focuses in the first presidential debate that takes Wednesday night

Recurrent issue
The issue has been on the public agenda since before the political scene began to be defined. In forums, in meetings with unions, civil society and with journalists, the matter has been recurrent.

On December 19, José Blandón, of the Panameñista Party; Laurentino Nito Cortizo, of the PRD Rómulo Roux, of CD Cambio Democrático; and Saúl Méndez, of the Frente Amplio por la Democracia (FAD), and as well as the independents Marco Ameglio, Ricardo Lombana and Ana Matilde Gómez attended a public event in which they praised the initiative of JUE.

However, the campaigns of Cortizo, Roux, Méndez and Ameglio have not given space to the group of young people to debate the proposal, even though they have knocked on the doors several times.

Only three of the candidates for the Presidency, Blandón, and independents Ana Matilde Gómez and Ricardo Lombana, have attended the youth organization.

Blandón did it the week the initiative was presented, and according to JUE, he will adopt certain important points.

Gómez also did the same thing days after the presentation of the proposals was developed at the headquarters of the Electoral Tribunal.

While Lombana directed the staff of his team that sees the issues of education, to attend to JUE.

On December 19, the four candidates who have not attended the proposal put education as a relevant issue. Cortizo said that if he wins on May 5, “education will be the star that lights up the next government.” Méndez, meanwhile, said that his presence at the event sought to tell the youth that he is willing to “return to natural organizations” a space to participate in the discussion of this issue.

Roux it is “extremely important” to dedicate “time and resources” to  the topic Ameglio, said that youth “is still the hope of our country,”

JUE   presented a document that contains 19 proposals, divided into three categories: management and investment, quality of education and teacher training.