When we went to Ceibal, Uruguay’s center for digital technology in education, the presenter showed us a slide that helped me make sense of the various education organizations that had been mentioned:
Ceibal has been around since 2007, providing universal coverage in the form of a one-to-one digital device program for all students and teachers, program coverage in the form of broadband and video conferencing connectivity at all schools and education centers, and tech training for teachers.
Work and play seem to blur here as toys, laptops, laughter, and quiet focus energy intermingle. There were rooms with tables setup to encourage brainstorming and idea exchange, while other areas focused more on testing the physical quality of products.
By contrast, the ANEP office we visited had old world charm and more of a high society vibe. There was a bit of snobbery in the body language from the people who worked there, but I still felt the good vibe of a space dedicated to education pursuits. ANEP (Administración Nacional Educación Pública) manages Uruguay’s public education system, which consists of the following:
- Inicial (equivalent to pre-school)
- Primaria (equivalent to elementary)
- Media (equivalent to secondary middle and high school)
- Técnico-tecnológica (equivalent to a technical-vocational school that students can enter in their last two years of high school)
- Tertiary Education (equivalent of University)
Click here for a good article in English explaining Uruguay’s education system. As shown in the first pic in this post, ANEP also manages the educational curriculum, trains teachers, and assesses the quality of education. It is governed by a group of directors called CODICEN (Consejo Directivo Central).
Uyehara in Uruguay 