Once an oil-rich nation and one of the most progressive in South America, Venezuela is now experiencing an exponential downfall due to a six-year economic crisis. This crisis has severely impacted the Venezuelan educational system, with food insecurity taking a major toll. The educational system is declining as fewer students attend classes, educators struggle to perform their duties and medical care becomes increasingly insufficient.

Lack of Attendance

According to The New York Times, “In Boca de Uchire, the Caruto family has stopped sending its nine children to a nearby school when the cafeteria doesn’t open. ‘I can’t send them to class hungry,’ said José Luis Caruto, a 36-year-old unemployed father of two.” The Caruto family is just one out of thousands affected by food insecurity within the school system.

According to Global Issues, “Hundreds of thousands of children and young people and thousands of their teachers, drop out of regular schooling in Venezuela year after year and most of those who remain go to the classroom only two or three days a week, highlighting the abysmal backwardness of education in the country.” This is largely attributed to food insecurity plaguing the country, especially those most vulnerable, such as impoverished children.

Lack of Proficient Educators

Not only are students affected by Venezuela’s food insecurity crisis, the educators are, as well. In fact, according to the national teachers’ union, thousands of the country’s 550,000 teachers did not show up to classes when schools reopened in September 2020, abandoning their $8-a-month wages.

Venezuela teachers are among the groups most affected by food insecurity and the economic crisis. According to The New York Times, “The number of graduates at Venezuela’s main teacher training center, the Libertador Experimental Pedagogical University, fell 70% from 2014 to 2018.” As a result, many Venezuelan schools have had to enlist parent volunteers to come in and teach their children, resulting in an insufficient learning environment.

Poor Medical Care

As more and more school-age children have fallen helpless to the food insecurity crisis in Venezuela, there has been a high demand for medical care and attention, most of which is unattainable. In schools all across the country, students are fainting mid-class due to extreme hunger. “You can’t educate skeletal and hungry people,” said Maira Marín, a teacher and union leader in Boca de Uchire.

According to South American Initiative, a nongovernmental organization, “The infant mortality rate has doubled because hospitals and parents have no food to feed them. In some cases, parents are forced to abandon their children and drop them off at orphanages because they simply cannot afford food.” Venezuela’s food insecurity crisis, coupled with the unrealistic expectations for medical facilities and workers, makes the risk of attending schools unnecessary for many families. Instead, many children stay home with their parents to participate in the workforce to gain enough revenue to feed their families.

Solutions

While the food insecurity crisis and its effect on the Venezuelan school system looks like a bleak and lost cause, the World Food Programme (WFP) is working to curb the situation. WFP activities in Venezuela include providing school meals and food assistance for vulnerable populations, supporting climate risk management, building resilience and strengthening food systems infrastructure and logistical capacity. The organization aims to support one million Venezuelans with food by the end of 2025.

Conclusion

The Venezuelan educational system is struggling to provide students with adequate nutrition so that they can attend schools, have proper educators and appropriate medical care. However, nonprofit organizations like WFP are actively working to curb the food crisis in Venezuela.

– London Collins Puc

London is based in West Palm Beach, FL, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

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