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España: Las causas de la desconocida y ocultada pobreza infantil en Catalunya

Noticias

Las causas de la desconocida y ocultada pobreza infantil en Catalunya

Vicenç Navarro
Catedrático Emérito de Ciencias Políticas y Políticas Públicas, Universitat Pompeu Fabra; director del JHU-UPF Public Policy Center

Uno de los mayores problemas sociales que existen en Catalunya es la elevadísima tasa de riesgo de pobreza y exclusión social de las criaturas, niños y niñas y jóvenes adolescentes, una de las más elevadas de España y de la UE-15 (el grupo de países de un nivel de riqueza semejante en la Unión Europea). Una tercera parte de la población menor de 16 años está en esta situación (33% en Catalunya, 30% en España y 20,6% en el promedio de la UE-15, según los datos proporcionados por el Idescat y Eurostat para la tasa AROPE –At Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion–, un indicador europeo que muestra qué porcentaje de la población se encuentra en riesgo de pobreza o exclusión social).

Uno de los tipos de hogares que se caracteriza por tener este elevado nivel de riesgo de pobreza son los hogares monoparentales (que representan alrededor de un 10% de todas las familias en Catalunya). La gran mayoría de estos hogares están compuestos por mujeres y sus criaturas, con muy escasos recursos como consecuencia de no tener una ocupación en el mercado de trabajo o por tenerla en la economía informal o en la economía de los servicios, donde predominan los salarios bajos y la precariedad. En Catalunya, tener trabajo no quiere decir que no seas pobre. En realidad, el 12% de las personas ocupadas continúan estando en riesgo de pobreza. De ahí que, aun cuando la eliminación de la brecha salarial que existe entre las mujeres y los hombres es una medida urgente y necesaria, se trata de una medida insuficiente para salir de la pobreza, pues los salarios entre los hombres en tales sectores de la economía de los cuidados son muy bajos (de los más bajos de la UE-15), con lo cual la igualación de los salarios por género no permitiría a la mayoría de las mujeres de hogares pobres salir de la pobreza.

Esta situación se ha acentuado durante el periodo conocido como la Gran Recesión, como consecuencia de la aplicación de políticas públicas (como las reformas laborales de 2010 y 2012) aprobadas en la Cortes españolas (con el apoyo activo –votando a favor– o pasivo –absteniéndose, esto es, facilitando su aprobación– de los partidos gobernantes –CDC y UCD– en Catalunya) y también en el Parlament de Catalunya que debilitaron significativamente a los sindicatos, políticas responsables del crecimiento de la precariedad y de la limitación de los salarios, siendo estos (en los sectores donde las mujeres son mayoría) de los más bajos de la UE-15. Ello queda reflejado en el hecho de que el porcentaje de la fuerza laboral sindicalizada en Catalunya es de alrededor del 10%, de las más bajas en España (donde lo está el 13,6% de los trabajadores) y en la UE-15 (donde, como promedio, lo está el 33,6%).

La escasa ayuda a las familias por parte de la Generalitat de Catalunya (y que se ha visto claramente durante la pandemia)

Pero hay otra causa de la pobreza infantil, y es la limitada disponibilidad de los servicios públicos de ayuda a las familias, tales como los servicios de atención y educación a la infancia (llamados guarderías en Catalunya) y los servicios de atención a la dependencia (ya sean servicios domiciliarios o residenciales –como las residencias de ancianos–), servicios que se conocen en los países escandinavos como el Cuarto Pilar del Estado del Bienestar (y que complementa los otros tres grandes derechos sociales: el derecho a la sanidad, el derecho a la educación y el derecho a la jubilación).

Este derecho, el de acceso a los servicios del cuarto pilar, está muy limitado en Catalunya (y en España), y ello afecta muy negativamente a las familias catalanas. Y decir familias quiere decir, en las culturas latinas, mujeres. Es precisamente la debilidad de las mujeres en Catalunya y en el resto de España lo que explica las limitaciones en algunos casos, y la falta de derecho en otros, al acceso a estos servicios de ayuda a las familias, siendo ello una de las causas de la pobreza infantil, pues ello no permite o dificulta la integración de la mujer en el mercado de trabajo, una de las principales causas de la pobreza maternal y, por lo tanto, infantil. Hay más que evidencia suficiente en los abundantes estudios sobre esta materia de que para reducir la pobreza infantil es más eficaz promover estos servicios de ayuda a las familias que hacer transferencias asistenciales a los hogares pobres, además de promover la participación de la mujer en el mercado laboral.

La integración de la mujer en el mercado de trabajo es una condición necesaria para reducir su pobreza, aunque no suficiente. Hay que aumentar los salarios, y para ello hay que empoderar a los sindicatos, y a las mujeres dentro de ellos. Para la mayoría de las mujeres que pertenecen a las clases populares, la liberación requiere, pues, de su empoderamiento tanto como mujeres como trabajadoras. Las reivindicaciones de género y las reivindicaciones de clase social son fundamentales para resolver el problema de la pobreza infantil.

Las causas políticas de la pobreza infantil: Catalunya ha sido gobernada por partidos de derechas durante la mayor parte del periodo democrático

Esta relación preferencial entre la liberación de la mujer y la liberación de las clases populares ha sido, precisamente, la experiencia de los países escandinavos, donde han gobernado coaliciones de partidos de izquierdas durante la mayor parte del tiempo transcurrido desde la II Guerra Mundial. Tanto los partidos de izquierdas como los sindicatos son fuertes (el porcentaje de trabajadores sindicalizados es de un 67% en Suecia, un 66% en Dinamarca, un 60% en Finlandia y un 49% en Noruega). Como consecuencia, tienen el cuarto pilar del Estado del Bienestar más desarrollado en Europa, junto con las desigualdades sociales por género y por clase social más bajas, así como los niveles más bajos de pobreza infantil.

En Catalunya, sin embargo, las izquierdas han tenido escaso poder (gobernando la Generalitat de Catalunya solamente siete años durante el periodo democrático). Catalunya, junto con Castilla y León, ha sido la comunidad autónoma en España gobernada por las derechas durante más tiempo (33 años) a lo largo dicho periodo, con la excepción de Euskadi (37 años). En el caso de Castilla y León, ha sido gobernada por la derecha mayoritaria en España, el PP, y en el caso de Catalunya, esta ha sido gobernada primero por una coalición de un partido liberal (CDC) con un partido cristianodemócrata (UDC), y después por el mismo partido liberal (Junts per Catalunya, heredero de CDC) con un partido de centroizquierda (ERC), que ha dado, este último, prioridad a su estrategia nacional sobre la social. Así, ha justificado su apoyo a Junts per Catalunya (la fuerza mayoritaria dentro de la coalición de gobierno) al compartir un proyecto común prioritario para ambas formaciones políticas: la independencia de Catalunya.

El principal argumento de ERC a favor de tal proyecto, así como de Junts per Catalunya, es que el subdesarrollo social de Catalunya (su elevadísima pobreza infantil es un indicador de ello) se debe a su pertenencia y supeditación al Estado español. Puesto que los datos de subdesarrollo social de dicho Estado, aunque ligeramente mejores, son muy semejantes a los de Catalunya (ver mi artículo «El gran silencio ensordecedor sobre la pobreza en España», Público, 22.07.20), tal argumento, a primera vista, parece coherente y es promovido activamente por los medios públicos de información pertenecientes a la Generalitat de Catalunya (y, muy en especial, TV3 y Catalunya Ràdio). Al parecer, han convencido a una parte amplia del público catalán, que, aun siendo minoritaria, está muy movilizada, de manera que el proceso para conseguir la secesión de Catalunya ha centrado la vida política y mediática de Catalunya (y de España), ignorando u ocultando la enorme crisis social de Catalunya. Su demanda de alcanzar la independencia durante su mandato llevó desde el principio del «procés» a un gran enfrentamiento con el Estado español, el cual había conservado, con escasa renovación, sus aparatos represivos, incluyendo los de seguridad del Estado, así como el judicial. De los 16 miembros del temido Tribunal de Orden Público, diez pasaron a ser miembros de la Audiencia Nacional o del Tribunal Supremo (ver «El Tribunal de Orden Público y la Audiencia Nacional. De aquellos polvos estos lodos», de Enrique Roldán Cañizares, ZonazeroO, 03.11.17). Y las cloacas continuaron actuando en los aparatos represivos del Estado con la colaboración de los mayores medios de información, cuyo principal objetivo fue mantener las instituciones producidas por una transición muy poco modélica (resultado de un gran desequilibrio de fuerzas), que implicó la continuidad del personal procedente de la dictadura en gran parte de las instituciones del Estado y en sus grandes medios de información, hasta el punto de que un periódico que jugó un papel clave en dicha transición como fue El País fue dirigido por el que fuera el director de la televisión de la dictadura, el Sr. Juan Luis Cebrián (ver mi libro Bienestar insuficiente, democracia incompleta. De lo que no se habla en nuestro país, Anagrama, 2002).

Los dirigentes de los partidos independentistas sabían que el «procés» que habían diseñado no llegaría a su objetivo

Cualquier conocedor de la historia reciente de España con la capacidad crítica de cuestionar la imagen promovida por el establishment político-mediático español de que la transición de la dictadura a la democracia fue modélica podía prever que el Estado español actual, que no está basado en una ruptura con el Estado dictatorial anterior sino en una acomodación, no permitiría que hubiera un referéndum sobre una posible secesión de Catalunya. De ahí que, movilizar a sus bases electorales prometiendo que ello era posible, era pedir una imposibilidad de la cual es difícil aceptar que los líderes de los partidos independentistas no fueran conscientes. El hecho de que insistieran en ello respondió, pues, a otro proyecto, nunca hecho explícito: que hubiera un referéndum sobre la independencia realizado en unas condiciones favorables al «sí», que justificaran así su posterior declaración de independencia. Era obvio que el referéndum no tenía las suficientes garantías para que tuviera la base legal y legítima para conseguir la independencia (tal y como el lehendakari Urkullu le advirtió al president Puigdemont). Pero la predecible respuesta que le dio Puigdemont fue que ello era resultado de la prohibición del gobierno español, que no permitió tales garantías (lo cual ya sabían desde el principio). El Estado era, pues, el responsable de una posición que les permitía legitimar, en cierta manera, lo que hicieron: declarar la independencia basándose en los resultados del 1 de octubre.

La aplicación del artículo 155 de la Constitución era inevitable, y ello tuvo un efecto devastador para la gran mayoría del pueblo catalán que, por cierto, no es independentista. Las políticas de austeridad fueron aplicadas con toda fuerza por el gobierno del PP presidido por Rajoy.

Las consecuencias del «procés» liderado por los partidos independentistas

Es impensable, repito, que los dirigentes de los partidos independentistas no fueran conscientes de esta realidad (la existencia en España de un Estado altamente represivo, heredero de un Estado dictatorial anterior) y que no conocieran que su estrategia (desarrollada en su famoso «procés») llevaría a tal empeoramiento de la situación política y a tal elevada represión. De ahí que hay que asumir que consideraran que tal conflictividad era necesaria, con fines partidistas, para movilizar y expandir sus bases, siendo tal política rentable electoramente. Como un tanto cínicamente había dicho la consellera Irene Rigau (de CDC), «la principal productora de independentistas en Catalunya era la política represiva del Estado español«. No hay duda de que el hecho que varios dirigentes independentistas estén hoy en la cárcel o en el exilio ha favorecido su movilización electoral. Pero tal conflictividad, que beneficia a los movimientos identitarios nacionalistas a ambos lados del Ebro, y muy en particular a los partidos de derechas –la españolista, el PP, y la independentista, CDC y el PDECat– (que, como siempre, intentan presentarse como los «grandes patriotas») ha hecho un daño enorme a las clases populares, cuya crisis social –incluida la elevadísima pobreza infantil– (creada precisamente por una alianza en temas económicos y sociales entre las derechas de los dos polos nacionales e identitarios) ha quedado totalmente ocultada.

La enorme, desconocida y ocultada pobreza infantil en Catalunya (y en España) podría resolverse, pero se requiere un cambio profundo del contexto político en ambas

Hoy la fuerza hegemónica dentro del independentismo continúa siendo la derecha heredera del pujolismo, que representa su visión más radicalizada e intransigente. Su argumento de que una Catalunya independiente sería más próspera ignora que lo que determina la calidad de vida de las clases populares en un país no es su nivel de riqueza (Catalunya es más rica que el promedio de la UE), sino la distribución de tal riqueza. EEUU –un punto de referencia de la ideología liberal– es el país más rico del mundo y, sin embargo, es uno de los países de la OCDE con peores indicadores de calidad de vida y con mayores desigualdades. El subdesarrollo social de Catalunya y del resto de España no se debe a que no exista suficiente riqueza, sino a que esta está pésimamente distribuida (ver mi libro El subdesarrollo social de España. Causas y consecuencias, Anagrama, 2009). Las políticas neoliberales que han sido aprobadas por las derechas catalanas en las Cortes españolas (desarrolladas en alianza con las derechas españolas), y la continua promoción de las sensibilidades económicas de esta orientación en los medios de persuasión que el gobierno de la Generalitat controla (siendo el economista más visible en los medios públicos de la Generalitat de Catalunya, tanto en TV3 como en Catalunya, uno de los economistas más ultraliberales de Europa, asesor de Davos, que privatizaría todo el Estado del Bienestar, incluyendo las pensiones), han sido responsables de que Catalunya sea uno de los países más desiguales, con una de las pobrezas infantiles más elevadas de la Unión Europea.

Parece que, por fin, se están escuchando algunas voces dentro del independentismo que reconocen que quizás se podría haber hecho algo mal. Lo que es obvio comienza a parecerles claro. La independencia deseada por tales partidos no puede ni debe ser realizada por una minoría de la población en Catalunya (por muy movilizada que esté), y todavía menos por una minoría que no tenga el apoyo de la gran mayoría de las clases populares. Sólo el 34 o 35% del censo electoral apoya la independencia (y, por cierto, el 20% del voto a partidos independentistas no es independentista, sino federalista, según el último barómetro del Centre d’Estudis d’Opinió de la Generalitat de Catalunya). Sus representantes en el Parlament de Catalunya no tenían ni tienen el mandato democrático para declarar la independencia. Su estrategia era y es meramente partidista (a fin de conseguir su permanencia en el poder político y mediático del país), sin considerar ni tener en cuenta las necesidades actuales de la población, obstaculizando las medidas económicas y sociales, como la aprobación de los presupuestos generales del Estado, que habrían terminado con las políticas de recortes, beneficiando así a las clases populares de Catalunya y del resto de España. Una vez más, el «procés» ahoga e impide el progreso social.

Hoy es necesario para el bien del país que haya un cambio en las direcciones de tales partidos para poder establecer una alianza con las fuerzas políticas reformistas españolas que están luchando (en medio de una gran hostilidad por parte de las derechas españolas y catalanas) para cambiar el Estado español, estableciendo un nuevo orden social, con una visión policéntrica y poliédrica del Estado, con una mirada plurinacional que ponga la justicia social y la solidaridad en el centro de las intervenciones públicas, en el contexto de unas instituciones plenamente democráticas, con el reconocimiento del derecho a decidir sobre el nivel de articulación territorial entre sus distintas naciones. Creerse que Catalunya puede cambiar sin cambiar España es un error que solo conducirá a perpetuar realidades como la elevadísima pobreza infantil que hay en ambos territorios. Así de claro.

Fuente de la Información: https://blogs.publico.es/vicenc-navarro/2020/08/11/las-causas-de-la-desconocida-y-ocultada-pobreza-infantil-en-catalunya/

 

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China: The secrets of Diocesan Boys’ School’s success at nurturing generations of Hong Kong talent

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The secrets of Diocesan Boys’ School’s success at nurturing generations of Hong Kong talent

  • School – founded as orphanage in 1869, which moved to Kadoorie Hill, near Mong Kok in 1926 – has grown to become one of city’s most prestigious establishments
  • Two former students, architect Norman Chan and concert pianist Kajeng Wong, share memories of their teenage years and discuss their unshakeable bond with school

When prominent Hong Kong architect Norman Chan stepped back inside his alma mater, the Diocesan Boys’ School (DBS), he felt nostalgic about all the good times he had there as a student.

“Nothing has changed,” he says. “I cannot believe they still use the chalk [on classroom blackboards].”

The school, founded in 1869, which initially served as an orphanage for boys, has grown to become one of the most prestigious educational institutions in Hong Kong.

It has witnessed the development of the city as it was transformed from a fishing village into a world-class financial centre.

Diocesan Boys' School, one of the most prestigious schools in Hong Kong, is located on top of Kadoorie Hill, a secluded neighbourhood near the urban heart of Kowloon.

Chan, who was born in 1960, was among the second generation of DBS students. Both his father and his son are also “old boys”, or alumni of the school.

He says that although it may have evolved with newly constructed modern buildings over the years, it remains a historic and highly coveted school in the eyes of its alumni.

“We old boys are very proud,” Chan says. “Even now, we feel as if we have to behave the way DBS expects its students to be – like demanding our absolute loyalty.”

An enclave of the elite

To many people living in Hong Kong, DBS is known as an elite school. Over the years, it has continued to nurture well-respected alumni across different spheres of public life.

Some of its most notable past DBS students include Sun Yat-sen, the “father of modern China” who overthrew the last imperial dynasty, George Lam, the veteran Canto-pop star, and Lam Kin-ming, former chairman of property developer Lai Sun Group.

“I think DBS does produce the most elite students,” says Kajeng Wong, a concert pianist who graduated from DBS in 2008.

He says the school’s success is rooted in its ability to educate students to be ambitious and open-minded. Students from different generations are taught to strive to be the best in their respective fields, regardless of whether they excel in academia, music, or sports.

The school is certainly one of the most prestigious and sought after in Hong Kong. Speaking to the
South China Morning Post

in 2012, headmaster Ronnie Cheng said DBS typically receives more than 1,000 applications for its 80 places each year.

The acceptance rate – lower than 8 per cent – is on a par with American Ivy League universities, such as Cornell University and Dartmouth College.

Wong believes the school’s competitiveness can be explained by its liberal culture, which gives students the freedom to pursue different dreams. “The greatest thing about DBS is that it encourages individual personalities,” he says.

Since its founding in 1869, DBS has nurtured generations of well-respected alumni in different spheres of public life, including politics, arts, and business.

Chan, who sent his son to his alma mater, agrees that the school is famous precisely because students are taught to be confident and well-rounded.

“Some parents would freak out about wanting to have their kids studying here,” he says. “I guess it’s seen as elitist – you can call it snobbish – but it’s a good school.”

Teenage memories

For Chan, Kadoorie Hill is not only the home of his former school, but also the neighbourhood he calls home.

“I was born here and I’ve lived here all my life,” he says.

Kadoorie Hill, an area with a rich history, features a collection of low-rise homes and old buildings. Constructed since the 1930s, it is named after the Kadoorie family, whose company was a major investor in the low-rise homes.

Despite its location near the urban heart of Kowloon, it is known for its remarkable peace and tranquility; there are around 2,000 trees overlooking the hill, which also features well-preserved historic architecture including the former headquarters of CLP, an electric company in Hong Kong.

Chan says that in the old days, Kadoorie Hill was a small place where people knew each other. “The postman knew everybody: that’s a very neighbourhood thing,” he says.

He believes that his alma mater’s location on the hill has provided ample space for students to develop their talents.

“It’s an old boy’s school, one of the best in Hong Kong and it’s right next to Kadoorie Hill,” he says. “It’s on top of this huge area of land where they enjoy a huge athletics field.”

Norman Chan, a prominent architect who graduated from DBS, says the school’s location on the hill has provided ample space for students to pursue different activities.

On his return he noticed that the original part of the campus has remained largely intact. As he passed the school hall, he recalled the school rule that forbids students from running in the hallway.

“Every morning, all the students have to gather here for assembly,” he says.

“The [school’s] reverend would stand up there, read some scriptures, say his prayer, and then we would have to sing the hymns.”

Wong, who now performs at concerts around the world, says that most of the memories from his teenage years involve music.

“The music department at DBS is really fantastic,” he says. “Perhaps my fondest memories are of rehearsals as a young Form 1 [Year 8] boy, until I was in Form 6 [Year 13].”

Through his many performances with orchestras and ensembles since he was a teenager, Wong has learned to adopt a serious attitude about music creation.

“Over the years, music students at DBS have been getting more and more professional about music making,” he says.

“The school’s music room is perhaps my favourite place on this planet, because of the brotherhood, the history and the memories.”

Kajeng Wong, a concert pianist who graduated from DBS in 2008, says his fondest memories are in the school’s music room.

Evolving with the times

Yet for Chan, an architect by profession, the neighbourhood isn’t static. Just as Hong Kong has developed into an international financial centre, he has also witnessed changes in Kadoorie Hill and his alma mater.

«As an architect, I see Kadoorie Hill forever evolving,” he says.

The same also goes for DBS.

Revisiting the school decades after his graduation, Chan says the school has constructed a number of modern buildings to expand its teaching facilities. “But there’s an interesting mix of historic colonial buildings right next to these very modern buildings: it gels together,” he says.

Wong says he thinks the rules, and also the culture of the school, change almost every generation for some reason,” adding that in the past his alma mater used to give students ample opportunities to follow their passions. “I don’t know, maybe it’s the nature of society.

“Back in my day … there were a lot of liberties students could take in terms of classes, and also things students could do.»

While times may have changed, DBS continues to maintain its status as one of the city’s most prestigious schools.

“DBS is a fount of knowledge and innovation – where you see a lot of fresh ideas and different personalities,” Wong says.

“If I have a child, I will definitely put him through DBS if I can, because what this school has to offer is tremendous.”

Fuente de la Información: https://www.scmp.com/native/news/hong-kong/education/topics/own-legacy-kadoorie-hill/article/3086949/secrets-diocesan

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COVID dejará catástrofe educativa: 24 millones de alumnos abandonarían sus estudios, dice ONU

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COVID dejará catástrofe educativa: 24 millones de alumnos abandonarían sus estudios, dice ONU

Alrededor de 100 países todavía no han anunciado en qué fecha volverán a abrir sus escuelas. La educación superior sería la más afectada.

La UNESCO advierte de que 24 millones de estudiantes en todo el mundo, desde el nivel de preescolar hasta el ciclo superior, podrían no volver a la escuela en 2020 como consecuencia de los cierres provocados por el COVID-19, según el informe ‘Education in the time of COVID-19 and beyond’, presentado este martes.

Según el informe, la mayoría de los alumnos en situación de riesgo, unos 5.9 millones, se encuentra en Asia Meridional y Occidental, mientras que otros 5.3 millones de estudiantes corren el mismo peligro en el África Subsahariana. Ambas regiones ya se enfrentaban a graves problemas educativos antes de la pandemia, por lo que la UNESCO considera probable que su situación empeore considerablemente.

La educación superior podría experimentar los mayores índices de abandono, así como una reducción de matrículas de hasta el 3.5%, lo que redundaría en una pérdida de 7.9 millones de alumnos. El segundo nivel más afectado sería la enseñanza preescolar, en la que se ha previsto una pérdida de matrículas del 2.8%, es decir, unos 5 millones menos de niños escolarizados.

Y según las mismas proyecciones, el nivel de primaria podría perder el 0.27% del alumnado y el de secundaria el 1.48%, lo que equivaldría a 5,2 millones de niñas y 5.7 millones de niños que dejarían los estudios en ambos niveles.

Durante la presentación del documento, el secretario general de las Naciones Unidas, António Guterres, advirtió que la pandemia ha causado el trastorno más grave registrado en los sistemas educativos en toda la historia y amenaza con provocar un déficit de aprendizaje que podría afectar a más de una generación de estudiantes.

“Ya nos enfrentábamos a una crisis de aprendizaje antes de la pandemia -afirma Guterres-. Ahora nos enfrentamos a una catástrofe generacional que podría despilfarrar un potencial humano incalculable, socavar décadas de progreso y agravar las desigualdades más arraigadas”.

Las estadísticas compiladas por la UNESCO muestran que casi 1,600 millones de alumnos de más de 190 países -el 94% de la población estudiantil del mundo- se vieron afectados por el cierre de las instituciones educativas en el momento más álgido de la crisis, una cifra que hoy se ha reducido a 1.000 millones. Alrededor de 100 países todavía no han anunciado en qué fecha volverán a abrir sus escuelas.

“Estas conclusiones ponen de relieve la urgente necesidad de velar por la continuidad del aprendizaje para todos, especialmente de los más vulnerables, ante esta crisis sin precedentes”, declara la directora general de la UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay.

Fuente de la Información: https://www.animalpolitico.com/2020/08/covid-catastrofe-educativa-alumnos-abandonarian-escuela-onu/

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Reino Unido: The Preventable Trauma Of COVID Childbirth

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The Preventable Trauma Of COVID Childbirth

“The baby is dead. We can’t assist you here.” By the time she heard these devastating words, the pregnant Yasmelis Casanova had endured a long and painful journey, passing through multiple COVID-19 checkpoints, to the hospital in Caracas, Venezuela. She bled for hours without treatment. When doctors at a second hospital finally operated on her, they removed her ovaries without her prior consent.

Then, she spent 20 days there almost entirely alone; due to COVID-19 restrictions, visits were banned. Venezuela’s health-care infrastructure was crumbling well before the pandemic, but the COVID-19 crisis has pushed it to the point of collapse. Many women experiencing obstetric emergencies now struggle to reach hospitals, let alone gain access to adequate care. Yet such failures can be seen far beyond Venezuela, in rich and poor countries alike.

Last month, the United Kingdom (UK)-based political website, openDemocracy released the results of a global investigation into the treatment of women in childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 45 countries – from Canada to Cameroon, from the UK to Ecuador – we found what doctors and lawyers describe as “shocking” and “unnecessary” breaches of laws and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines intended to protect women and babies during the pandemic.

The WHO’s specific COVID-19 guidelines affirm, for example, that women should be accompanied by a person of their choice while giving birth. Yet, across Eurasia and Latin America – including in at least 15 European countries – women have been forced to give birth without companions.

Likewise, the WHO asserts that procedures like C-sections should be performed only when they are medically necessary or have the woman’s consent. Yet in 11 countries, women reported that they didn’t consent to C-sections, inductions, and episiotomies (the cutting of a woman’s vagina) that were performed on them, or said that they did not believe these procedures were medically necessary.

WHO guidelines also dictate that women receive breastfeeding support and the opportunity for skin-to-skin contact with new born babies. Yet mothers have been separated from new born babies in at least 15 countries – including at least six European countries – and prevented from breastfeeding in at least seven, even though there is no conclusive evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted through breast milk. Doctors and health experts agree: none of this is necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Likewise, there have been multiple reports of pregnancy deaths in Africa, after transport and other lockdown restrictions prevented women from reaching hospitals. Many women in developing countries have been forced to give birth in unsanitary and unsafe conditions. Experts now warn that over the course of just six months, COVID-19 restrictions and health-service disruptions could cause up to 56,700 additional maternal deaths in low- and middle-income countries.

If this is not enough to expose the flaws in current COVID-19-prevention measures, consider how unevenly they are implemented (and lifted). In some parts of England, women can now take their partners to the pub, but not to antenatal appointments.

This reflects a long history of the “postcode lottery” dictating access to health care and other services, from in vitro fertilization clinics to domestic violence shelters. And it fits a wider global pattern of downgrading women’s rights and needs, including during childbirth. Just last year, a WHO-led study reported that 42 percent of the women interviewed by researchers in Ghana, Guinea, Myanmar, and Nigeria said they had experienced physical or verbal abuse, stigma, or discrimination in health facilities during childbirth.

In Latin America, several countries – including Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela – have passed laws against the performance of medical procedures, such as C-sections, without informed consent. But they are very rarely enforced, and advocates report that authorities and medical staff normalise such obstetric violence.

In fact, before the pandemic, 40 percent of babies across Latin America were already being delivered by C-section, though this method poses higher risks for mother and baby. The WHO recommends a rate of around 15 percent, emphasising that C-sections should be carried out only when medically justified.

Furthermore, most African countries were already off track to meet their targets for reducing maternal and infant deaths by 2030, part of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As Jesca Nsungwa Sabiiti, Uganda’s maternal and child health commissioner, has noted, the pandemic is likely to delay achievement of the targets even further. But just as the COVID-19 crisis can impede progress, it can also spur change, by forcing governments and civil society to rethink how our health systems, economies, and societies are organised.

So far, discussions – especially among policymakers – have tended to be narrow, focused on short-term solutions. If we are to build the “equitable, resilient, and sustainable” post-COVID world that many leaders advocate, we must embrace a much more ambitious vision of what public health really means.

For example, laws protecting the vulnerable need to be enacted and enforced. Health bodies and other agencies must investigate violations and hold medical providers accountable. And governments and donors must allocate far more resources for advocacy in problematic areas such as maternal health, and for implementing a rights-based approach to medical training and service provision across the board.

The issue extends far beyond direct medical care. Today, women can be imprisoned for having miscarriages (as in El Salvador) and detained for non-payment of hospital bills after childbirth (as in Kenya). Structural inequality and discrimination based on gender, race, class, disability, and more still shapes every aspect of our lives, in rich and poor economies alike. All of these failures undermine public health.

Far too many women have felt alone, scared, and traumatised while giving birth during the pandemic. In openDemocracy’s investigation, one woman in Italy expressed her hope that policymakers and medical providers would learn from her suffering, and the suffering of those like her, so that other women wouldn’t have to endure what she did. We owe it to these women to ensure that they do.

Fuente de la información: https://theaseanpost.com/article/preventable-trauma-covid-childbirth

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Estados Unidos: #WhyIChoseEducation: ‘I Have Always Enjoyed Being Around Kids from Elementary Age Through High School and/or College. I Enjoy Their Spirit, Optimism, Passion and Humor,’ Says Director of METRC Kerri Brown Parker

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#WhyIChoseEducation: ‘I Have Always Enjoyed Being Around Kids from Elementary Age Through High School and/or College. I Enjoy Their Spirit, Optimism, Passion and Humor,’ Says Director of METRC Kerri Brown Parker

This is part of a monthly “Why I Chose Education” series in which NC State College of Education alumni, students, faculty and staff share why they chose education.

As a young girl, Kerri Brown Parker was always excited about starting a new school year and couldn’t wait for summer break to be over. School was an opportunity for her to learn new things, take on new challenges and experiences, and discover new passions and interests. Throughout her life, she was always drawn to working with kids, having served as a babysitter and camp volunteer. And she’s always enjoyed being in the company of children, regardless of age. So, when she decided to pursue a career in education, it was the perfect fit for her.

For the past seven-and-a-half years, Brown Parker has served in the NC State College of Education Media and Education Technology Resource Center (METRC) — first as the instructional technology and literacy librarian before being named director in 2017.

As director of METRC, she provides instruction with METRC resources in literacy and digital innovation; selects, purchases and manages access to library collections; leads and collaborates in future-ready technology developments in the college; and partners and teaches with faculty in technology and literacy resources and instruction. Brown Parker also leads professional development and information learning sessions around technology and literacy resources and instruction, and manages METRC operations and staff.

When she isn’t working, Brown Parker enjoys cooking complicated meals and trying new ingredients, spending time with family, playing board and video games with family and friends and challenging her mom to a game of MahJongg. She likes reading a magazine somewhere outside, whether in a hammock, by the pool or in a lounge chair. She also enjoys reading books, traveling, bicycling, getting crafty and watching sci-fi shows.

Brown Parker shares why she chose education, how education has shaped her into the person she is today and what has inspired her during these unprecedented times.

Why I Chose Education: I was the oldest cousin, the older sister, the neighborhood babysitter, the YMCA camp volunteer … generally drawn to working with kids. I have always enjoyed being around kids from elementary age through high school and/or college. I truly like and respect them. I enjoy their spirit, optimism, passion and humor. I’ve also been told I’m patient, a good listener, and have a talent for reading people’s needs, so teaching was a good fit for me.

How Education Has Shaped Me: I was the kid who couldn’t wait to go to kindergarten and was always ready for summer break to be over. I had good teachers, bad teachers, happy experiences and miserable experiences. School held friends, challenges, new experiences, music, science, anxiety, pride, embarrassment and … everything. I feel like education shaped so many parts of who I am and will continue to be. It’s where I learned from other working moms how to be a parent as well as where I learned that demeaning someone for being “bad at math” has long lasting consequences for self-esteem and even career choices. My closest friends are teacher-friends because there are so many emotions and strong experiences that happen among people who are passionate and caring about their students. It’s truly bonding. Educational experiences as a student, teacher and parent have shaped … all of me.

What I Enjoy the Most About Being Part of the NC State College of Education: Feeling like I contribute to the learning of a broad group of our students and future teachers by working with them individually, in classes and by influencing the faculty who teach them.

What Others Should Know About the NC State College of Education: We value excellence and have high expectations. I want to work in a place that knows educators are important and can truly influence the future so they better be well-prepared. The NC State College of Education is also a collegial place in which many different roles are valued for their contributions.

The Last Thing I Experienced That Inspired Me: Our job in METRC involves many different components and I was drawn to librarianship in large part due to the ever-changing nature of the work. I am sometimes a literacy consultant, a researcher, an instructional technology guide, a teacher, a manager and more. Due to the sudden shift to remote learning in March 2020, METRC staff also felt our role as … technology counselors. All of us in METRC have worked to not just help people survive in their new online reality but thrive, and I’ve been inspired by how our faculty and staff have responded. People are stressed but focused on continuous improvement and staying very positive about how they can continue working to influence a new generation of teachers. Faculty and staff have also been so thankful for the support and guidance we provide in METRC. I’m inspired by their attendance at workshops, willingness to participate in summer book studies, desire to talk out new ideas and general work ethic during so much change.

Fuente de la Información: https://ced.ncsu.edu/news/2020/07/30/whyichoseeducation-i-have-always-enjoyed-being-around-kids-from-elementary-age-through-high-school-and-or-college-i-enjoy-their-spirit-optimism-passion-and-humor-says-director/

 

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Estados Unidos: As Colleges Move Classes Online, Families Rebel Against the Cost

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As Colleges Move Classes Online, Families Rebel Against the Cost

Schools face rising demands for tuition rebates, increased aid and leaves of absence as students ask if college is becoming “glorified Skype.”

CORONAVIRUS SCHOOLS BRIEFING: The pandemic is upending education. Get the latest news and tips as students go back to school.

After Southern California’s soaring coronavirus caseload forced Chapman University this month to abruptly abandon plans to reopen its campus and shift to an autumn of all-remote instruction, the school promised that students would still get a “robust Chapman experience.”

“What about a robust refund?” retorted Christopher Moore, a spring graduate, on Facebook.

A parent chimed in. “We are paying a lot of money for tuition, and our students are not getting what we paid for,” wrote Shannon Carducci, whose youngest child, Ally, is a sophomore at Chapman, in Orange County, where the cost of attendance averages $65,000 a year. Back when they believed Ally would be attending classes in person, her parents leased her a $1,200-a-month apartment. Now, Ms. Carducci said, she plans to ask for a tuition discount.

A rebellion against the high cost of a bachelor’s degree, already brewing around the nation before the coronavirus, has gathered fresh momentum as campuses have strained to operate in the pandemic. Incensed at paying face-to-face prices for education that is increasingly online, students and their parents are demanding tuition rebates, increased financial aid, reduced fees and leaves of absences to compensate for what they feel will be a diminished college experience.

At Rutgers University, more than 30,000 people have signed a petition started in July calling for an elimination of fees and a 20 percent tuition cut. More than 40,000 have signed a plea for the University of North Carolina system to refund housing charges to students in the event of another Covid-19-related campus shutdown. The California State University system’s early decision to go online-only this fall has incited calls for price cuts at campuses from Fullerton to San Jose.

At Ithaca College — student population, 5,500 — the financial services team reports more than 2,000 queries in the past month about financial aid and tuition adjustments. Some 340 Harvard freshmen — roughly a fifth of the first-year class — deferred admission rather than possibly spending part of the year online, and a parents’ lobbying group, formed on Facebook last month, has asked the administration to reduce tuition and relax rules for leaves of absence.

Universities have been divided in their response, with some offering discounts but most resisting, arguing that remote learning and other virus measures are making their operations more, not less, costly at a time when higher education is already struggling.

“These are unprecedented times, and more and more families are needing more and more financial assistance to enroll in college,” said Terry W. Hartle, a senior vice president for the American Council on Education, a higher education trade group. “But colleges also need to survive.”

The roster of colleges that have rescinded plans to reopen their classrooms has been growing by the day. In the past two weeks, the University of Maryland, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia, Princeton and a host of other colleges announced plans to hold all or most of their classes online, citing concerns about the coronavirus. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, less than a quarter of the nation’s 5,000 colleges are committed to providing instruction primarily or completely in person.

At Illinois State University, an 11th-hour shift infuriated Joseph Herff, a 22-year-old business major. He had locked into an off-campus lease and taken out $10,000 more in student loan debt by the time the school announced that its fall would be mostly online — the result of public health guidance and a shortage of coronavirus tests, according to the university’s president, Larry Dietz.

“I don’t have an issue with moving classes to online. I do have an issue though that classes are charged the same price,” Mr. Herff tweeted on an account that, until this month, he said in an interview, he had largely reserved for sports talk. “Why is this fair?”

Many colleges were facing financial dark clouds even before the coronavirus arrived. Population declines in some parts of the country have dampened enrollment, and soaring tuition has led many families to question the price of a college diploma. Moody’s Investors Service, which in March downgraded the higher education sector to negative from stable, wrote that even before the pandemic, roughly 30 percent of universities “were already running operating deficits.”

Since then, emptied dorms, canceled sports, shuttered bookstores and paused study-abroad programs have dried up key revenue streams just as student needs have exploded for everything from financial aid and food stamps to home office equipment and loaner laptops.

Public health requirements for masks, barriers, cleaning and other health protections also have added new costs, as have investments in training and technology to improve remote instruction and online courses.

Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Mass. Roughly a fifth of Harvard’s first-year class deferred admission rather than spend the fall online.

“Starting up an online education program is incredibly expensive,” said Dominique Baker, an assistant professor of education policy at Southern Methodist University. “You have to have training, people with expertise, licensing for a lot of different kinds of software. All those pieces cost money, and then if you want the best quality, you have to have smaller classes.”

Chapman’s president, Daniele Struppa, said the university spent $20 million on technology and public health retrofits for the fall semester, and he estimates that the switch to an online fall will cost the school $110 million in revenue. He has cut spending “brutally” from the $400 million annual budget, he said, freezing hires, slashing expenses, canceling construction of a new gym, ending the retirement match to employees and giving up 20 percent of his own $720,000 base salary.

Only students who can demonstrate financial need will get help, he is telling families. “Tuition really reflects our cost of operation, and that cost has not only not diminished but has greatly increased.”

A survey by the American Council on Education estimated that reopening this fall would add 10 percent to a college’s regular operating expenses, costing the country’s 5,000 some colleges and universities a total of $70 billion.

“For institutions,” said Mr. Hartle, who lobbies for the council, “this is a perfect storm.”

Students are feeling tempest tossed, too.

Temple sociologist Sara Goldrick-Rab, founder of the university’s Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, said the organization has been “bombarded” with pleas for help from students who can’t cover their rent and don’t know how to apply for food stamps. At least a third of students had lost jobs because of the pandemic by May, according to the center.

Such situations, Ms. Goldrick-Rab said, are particularly risky because they often prompt students to take on second or third jobs or to become distracted, which in turn imperils financial aid that can be revoked if their grades fall.

Laurie Koehler, vice president for enrollment strategy at Ithaca College, said about one in six students reported in a just-completed survey that the pandemic had significantly hurt their ability to continue their studies. At Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., the school’s president, Alison Byerly, said she expects requests for additional financial aid to grow by up to 15 percent this year.

But the shift online also has accelerated fundamental questions about the future of higher education, said the director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, Marguerite Roza.

“This is a moment that is basically forcing students and parents to say, ‘What is the value? If I can’t set foot on campus, is that the same value?’”

Will Andersen, an 18-year-old incoming freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, put it this way: “Who wants to pay $25,000 a year for glorified Skype?”

“Education isn’t just information,” agreed Yolanda Brown-Spidell, a Detroit-area teacher and divorced mother of five whose lament last month about remote learning in a private Facebook group for Harvard parents burgeoned into a lobbying push to ease school policies on tuition and fall housing.

“Being able to meet up with friends, have those highly intellectual conversations, walking over to CVS and getting ice cream at 1 in the morning,” she said, ticking off the parts of education her daughter, a rising junior, has missed while working at home on her computer. “And let’s not forget just not being home with your mama, with her eyes on you.”

Some families have sued. Roy Willey, a class-action attorney in South Carolina, said his firm alone has filed at least 30 lawsuits — including against the University of California system, Columbia University and the University of Colorado — charging universities with breach of contract for switching in-person instruction to online classes, and is closely monitoring the fall semester.

Most suits are in their early stages, though several universities have moved for dismissal. “If you and I go down to the steakhouse and order a prime rib, and prepay for it and sit at our table, and a while later the server comes by and says, ‘Here’s two hamburgers, we’re out of prime rib’ — well, we may eat the hamburgers, but they’re not entitled to the money we would have paid for prime rib,” Mr. Willey said.

“This is a moment that is basically forcing students and parents to say, ‘What is the value? If I can’t set foot on campus, is that the same value’,” said Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University.

A handful of universities have announced substantial price cuts. Franciscan University of Steubenville, a private Catholic university in Ohio with about 3,000 students, announced in April that it will cover 100 percent of tuition costs, after financial aid and scholarships, for incoming undergraduates. Williams College in Massachusetts took 15 percent off in June when it announced it would combine online and in-person instruction this fall.

More typical is the 10 percent cut at Catholic University in Washington, which plans to start the semester online and dramatically scale back the number of students allowed back onto campus. Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Georgetown University, Spelman University and other institutions are offering similar reductions. Lafayette College is limiting its 10 percent to students who study from home for the semester. The University of Southern California has offered a $4,000-per-semester “Living at Home Scholarship.”

Some schools are extending freebies. Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., has offered to tack on a tuition-free year of instruction for currently enrolled students, noting on its website that the current situation is not “the college experience they imagined.” St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis., is offering a free semester.

But most colleges have kept prices flat, and a few have even increased them. They can’t afford to do otherwise without mass faculty layoffs, said Robert Kelchen, a Seton Hall University associate professor of higher education, even though the isolated, monitored experience campuses are selling this fall “is going to feel like some combination of a monastery and a minimum-security prison.”

“This crisis is demonstrating that there is real value in face-to-face instruction,” agreed David Feldman, an economist at William & Mary in Virginia and author, with Robert B. Archibald, of “The Road Ahead for America’s Colleges and Universities.” That recognition, he said, will generally protect better-endowed schools and those with state support.

Even so, he said, a culling is at hand for higher education. His prediction: a consolidation of public university branch campuses and a reckoning for some small, private liberal arts colleges that are already operating on thin margins.

“There will be a shakeout,” he said.

Fuente de la Información: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/15/us/covid-college-tuition.html

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España: Asturias, entre las comunidades que menos dinero recibe del reparto de ayudas para los alumnos más vulnerables

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Europa/España/16-08-2020/Autor(a) y Fuente: www.elcomercio.es

El Principado recibirá 1.549.524 euros del programa #PROA+, que pretende adaptarse a la situación educativa del próximo curso 2020-2021 | Este plan tiene como objetivos garantizar la continuidad y el avance educativo del alumnado.

Asturias, con 1,55 millones de euros, es una de las comunidades autónomas que menos dinero recibe del programa de refuerzo educativo #PROA+ para restablecer y reforzar el funcionamiento de los centros educativos el próximo curso.

El Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) ha publicado este jueves la resolución de 31 de julio de la Secretaría de Estado de Educación, por la que se publica el acuerdo del Consejo de Ministros de 21 de julio que formaliza los criterios de distribución a las comunidades autónomas, aprobados por la Conferencia Sectorial de Educación, así como la distribución resultante del crédito destinado este año al Programa de cooperación territorial para la orientación, avance y enriquecimiento educativo en la situación de emergencia educativa del curso 2020-21 provocada por la pandemia del COVID-19: #PROA+ (20-21).

Según este reparto, ya conocido, Asturias recibirá 1.549.524 euros del programa #PROA+ que pretende adaptarse a la situación educativa del próximo curso 2020-2021, provocada por la suspensión temporal de la actividad lectiva presencial desde marzo hasta el final del curso y el impacto negativo del confinamiento en el bienestar y en el progreso del alumnado.

Menos que Asturias recibirá Cantabria, con 1,47 millones. Después figura La Rioja (1,57), ientras que las más beneficiadas son Andalucía (5,34 millones), Cataluña (4,51) y Madrid (3,76 millones).

El criterio de reparto entre las comunidades se ha realizado teniendo en cuenta el número de alumnos escolarizados en Educación Primaria y Secundaria Obligatoria (50%); el porcentaje de alumnos con necesidades específicas de apoyo educativo (20%); la tasa de idoneidad a los 15 años (20%) y la dispersión de la población, en base al Censo de Población y Vivienda 2011 del Instituto Nacional de Estadística (10%).

Este plan tiene como objetivos garantizar la continuidad y el avance educativo del alumnado en el curso 2020-2021, con especial atención a los más vulnerables; y restablecer, reforzar y mejorar el funcionamiento de los centros educativos en las condiciones especiales para el próximo curso, flexibilizando su organización, garantizando las condiciones escolares recomendadas por las autoridades sanitarias

Asimismo, pretende reforzar la equidad educativa de la red de centros; impulsar y facilitar las necesarias adaptaciones de las programaciones didácticas en torno a las competencias clave y los aprendizajes fundamentales; reforzar la dotación y formación de los equipos docentes y de los profesionales de la orientación; y responder de forma integral a las nuevas necesidades educativas sobrevenidas, así como mitigar el impacto del confinamiento y suspensión de la educación presencial en el bienestar socioemocional del alumnado y profesorado.

CATÁLOGO DE ACTUACIONES

Cada centro educativo elegirá entre el catálogo de actuaciones del programa #PROA+, en función de sus necesidades y posibilidades en el curso 2020-21.

Estas actuaciones incluyen la adecuación del proyecto educativo del centro a las necesidades del curso 2020-2021, con adaptación de la programación curricular y estímulo a la renovación pedagógica inclusiva; y el impulso a las competencias docentes y orientadoras más necesarias, en coordinación con los servicios o redes de formación de la Comunidad Autónoma.

También, un plan de acompañamiento, motivación y refuerzo escolar personalizado para el alumnado con necesidades específicas de apoyo educativo; y la promoción de la implicación y colaboración de las familias y del entorno comunitario con el proyecto educativo del centro para el curso 2020-2021.

Estos 40 millones son una inversión inicial de otras previstas por el Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional destinadas a hacer frente a la situación de los centros provocada por la pandemia del COVID-19.

Fuente e Imagen: https://www.elcomercio.es/sociedad/educacion/asturias-educacion-fondos-proa-20200813104253-nt.html

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