education

Ngöbe Buglé: a school day

Indigenous leaders say the same problems that plague urban school affect Ngöbe Buglé schools, such as classroom space.

Most Comarca children also face a “language shock” when they realize their teacher speaks only Spanish.

eduardo e. espinosa/la prensa

winding road: Many school-aged children in the Comarca Ngöbe Buglé live a great distance from their local school, meaning they often wake at 4 a.m. to arrive to class by 8 a.m.1109575

Starting in the pale early morning hours, barefoot schoolchildren from the Ngöbe Buglé village of Agua Salud, in the highlands of Peñón, cluster into small groups. Their goal is to arrive at the local school before 8 a.m., and just like runners in a race, they scurry to the top of the mountain knowing that a steep decline will bring them easily down the other side.

Despite the long journey to school, they show no signs of exhaustion. Joy shines on their little faces, perhaps because they know they will be served a breakfast cream accompanied by puff pastry.

Indigenous leader Gertrudis Sire commented that although education is a fundamental right of all children, it is especially important for the Ngöbe Buglé when it is accompanied by adequate nutrition and a curriculum that is in line with the realities of the lifestyle in their particular regions.

Sire explained that the teachers who don’t follow their assigned schedule or duties are in the minority in the local schools, but that those who do risk cheating their students when they begin the next grade and are not able to compete with classmates on equal terms.

Language class, of course, is especially crucial for the Ngöbe Buglé, as when they enter class for the first time, the indigenous children face the two-fold linguistic “shock” of a teacher who speaks a language different to theirs, who will then introduce a curriculum taught entirely in Spanish.

Weny Miranda, who monitors the reading and writing skills of the regional population, indicated that many of the Ngöbe Buglé children live in areas far from their schools, where they aren’t exposed to the Spanish language. The situation has its pros and cons, she said. While it is important for them to have a command of the country’s official language, it is equally important for them as an indigenous community to preserve their language and culture so as not to be absorbed by the Spanish language and the Latin culture.

Cleto Montero, a professor at the Universidad Ngöbe Buglé, said that what is lacking in Comarca schools are the same things missing from schools around the country, namely adequate teaching methods.

He suggested that the government address the voids that exist in the education system, including a lack of classrooms, furniture, kitchens, latrines, potable water systems and teacher dormitories.

Oriel Cristian Tapia, principal of a local elementary school with 220 students, echoed Montero’s call to address the educational shortcomings, but emphasized that the high poverty rate on the Comarca did have an impact on the quality of education.