Paraguay

In this poor country, preprimary education has not traditionally been a priority. For the most part, other needs that have seemed more pressing have taken precedence.

Slow but gradual progress in primary education has been the pattern during the late twentieth century. Student absenteeism and grade repetition have been common patterns, more so in rural than in urban schools.

At the beginning of 1909, when compulsory education in Paraguay started, 344 primary schools employed 756 teachers and served 40,605 pupils. Concurrently, private schools enrolled 2,000 to 3,000 students. Under the direction of the Ministry of Education and Worship, the primary program, free and compulsory for children ages 7 to 14, comprised one six-year cycle.

In the early 1970s, fewer than 5 percent of elementary school students in Paraguay finished the full six-year course of study, compared with 30 percent of urban students.

From 1975 to 1980, rapid growth occurred, with the number of students in attendance in primary schools increasing by about one-quarter. Much of this increase occurred in rural areas, where between 1972 and 1981 a one-third increase occurred. A 1980 study showed improvement in the percentage of students completing the elementary school cycle, with about 38 percent of all students finishing the program; the figure for rural students, 25 percent, remained well below that registered by urban students. In theory, six years of education was compulsory in Paraguay in 1982, as earlier, but many remote rural areas still lacked schools.

By 1984, a total of 560,000 students attended primary schools in Paraguay. But the proportion of enrolled school-age children actually declined or remained constant from 1965 to 1985. Statistics for 1989-1990 showed 4,411 schools and 31,590 teachers employed at the primary level (ages 7-12). A total of 656,877 students generated a student/teacher ratio of 20.8 to one.

Finding adequately trained teachers has long been a problem, especially in rural areas, where many teachers have been uncertified. Statistics for 1992 show only 28 percent of Paraguayans pursuing education past primary school.