35,000 student failure rate alarming

THE FAILURE  rate of Panama students, about 35,000 or five percent of the 700,000 students in the country, each year, remains one of the major problems within the education system.

The failing grades  cost the state an estimated $44.8 million in extra spending annually and fingers are being pointed in many directions.

Figures for the 2015 school year are still being tabulated, but education officials said the rate is not expected to vary greatly from historical averages reports La Prensa.

National Education Director Mario Rodríguez said that the problem is due to deficiencies that exist in the education sector. He said more resources need to be spent on teaching basic subjects such as Spanish, math and science.

Former Minister of Education Miguel Angel Canizales (2005-2007) said that the ministry has failed to address deficiencies that have been identified in previous studies. Teacher union eader Diógenes Sánchez said that one of the primary issues is the lack of proper infrastructure, such as the maintenance of structures and the provision of school supplies and equipment. Another issue that has been raised is the large number of students in each classroom.

Noemí Castillo, a member of the Education Commission of the Panamanian Business Executives Association, said the failure rate is alarming and that the education system is leaving many students without opportunities to achieve a “better life.”

“The failure of children and young people is the failure of the system and of society,” Castillo said.