Paraguay

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Paraguay in a nutshell

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraguay)

Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay; Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái), is one of the two landlocked countries which lie entirely within the Western Hemisphere, the other being Bolivia, both in South America. It lies on both banks of the Paraguay River and is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest.

Because of its central location in South America, the country is sometimes referred to as Corazón de América — Heart of America.

The population is 6.3 million.

The capital (and largest city) is Asunción.

The official languages are Spanish and Guaraní. About 75% of all Paraguayans speak Spanish.

Paraguay is divided by the Río Paraguay into the eastern region, officially called Eastern Paraguay (Paraguay Oriental) and known as the Paraná region; and the western region, officially called Western Paraguay (Paraguay Occidental) and also known as the Chaco.

The southeastern border is formed by the Paraná River, containing the Itaipú dam shared with Brazil. It is currently the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world, generating almost all the electricity consumed by Paraguay. Another large hydroelectric power plant on the Paraná River is Yacyretá, a collaborative project by Paraguay and Argentina.

Paraguay is a representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Paraguay is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Congress. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Paraguay consists of seventeen departments and one capital district (distrito capital). The departments are further divided into districts (distritos).

Education in Paraguay

( mostly sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Paraguay)

Historically, Paraguay has not valued education highly. During the 1954–89 period, education initiatives took a backseat to economic concerns and the task of controlling political adversaries, and teacher salaries fell to extremely low levels. The constitution of 1992 attempted to remedy the long neglect of education: Article 85 of the constitution mandates that no government revenue be designated for educational expenditures. This measure, however, has proven to be impractical and has been largely ignored.

Nevertheless, democratization has been accompanied by a gradual improvement in the education system. Spending on education has increased, reaching 4.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2000, up from 1.7 percent in 1989. Much of the increased funding went to raise teacher salaries and update curricula. Still, Paraguayan children spend far less time in school than in most other South American countries.

Schools in Paraguay average about 700 contact hours annually, compared with 1,500 in countries such as Chile. Students are required to attend school from ages seven to 13, and surveys indicate that Paraguay has a net primary school attendance rate of 92 percent. Public education is free to all, but dropout rates remain high.

In 2003 Paraguay had an estimated literacy rate of 94 percent, with very little differential between men and women (94.9 percent to 93 percent, respectively). Illiteracy rates exceed the national average in rural areas. The 2001 census found that 15 percent of women and 10 percent of men living in rural areas were illiterate.

The national secondary enrolment rate is 53%, in spite of near universal primary enrolment, according to a 2006 study by the Ministry of Education.

In November 2010 the Ministry of Education and Culture published a new Mission and Vision statement [Spanish], which includes the following

Schools in Paraguay

An incomplete list of secondary schools in Paraguay, with specialisms

Further and Higher education in Paraguay

Universities in Paraguay

Until the 1990s, the state National University and the Catholic University served Paraguay’s entire population. As part of the educational reforms of the 1990s, the government created 16 new universities and the first decade of the 21st century has seen an explosion of new university approvals, with a further 35 constitued between 2000 and 2011. The List of Universities in Paraguay on Ministry of Education website now shows a total of 53 universities.

There are private universities as well as public universities. Of the 53 institutions officially approved as universities by the Ministry of Education and Culture, only 8 are public - the other 45 are all private.

Many of these [especially the newer ones] appear very small and several are linked with other universities, both elsewhere in Hispanic America and in Spain, and in one or two cases, the USA. Currently [2011] only 39 have accessible websites, with two of these under construction.

Several of the universities offer courses completely online and these are noted under Virtual Initiatives in post-secondary education below.

Education reform

In 2010, discussions were held with UNESCO on improving teacher training; the role of technology, both as a teaching tool and a subject matter for students; secondary education reform and higher education.

Post-secondary

Wikipedia notes that "According to the United States government, Paraguay does not have an adequate university system".

ICT in education initiatives

Discussions took place in 2010 with UNESCO on the role of technology, both as a teaching tool and a subject matter for students.

The Ministry website [Spanish] has a growing ICT section - MEC Digital: this link is to the basic education section, but each level of education has its own section, with frequent circulars and access to multimedia resources.

Virtual initiatives in schools

There do not appear to be any virtual schools in Paraguay, although US virtual schools [e.g. Wilostar3D] market actively.

There is an increasing range of ICT resources accessible through the MEC Digital website.

Virtual initiatives in post-secondary education

The Autonomous University of Asunción (Universidad Autónoma de Asunción, UAA) was funded in 1978 as a college of business management, but in 1991 attained the title of University. It is located in Paraguay and has a department of distance learning. Information is sketchy.

American University of Paraguay ecampus is linked with the University for Development of Science and Technology of Panama, and through the Project Group SA has developed a learning platform for the development of undergraduate and graduate studies both fully online and part-tutored. Online courses include:

• Business Administration
• Government
• Pharmacy Management
• International Trade
• Accounting
• Commercial Engineering
• Psychology
• Education Sciences
• International Relations
• Law
• Theology
• Nutrition

In addition to undergraduate courses there are agreements with ALT - Brazil for online Masters courses in:

• Psychoanalysis
• Medicine
• Alternative medicine
• Philosophy
• Theology
• International Law
• Education

University of Chaco learning platform offers online courses in:

• Degree in Accounting and Auditing.
• Bachelor of Business Administration.
• Bachelor of Commerce.

Three Frontiers International University offers '100% online courses' in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Madrid, through its Center for Graduate, CEPADE, located in Spain, represented by the Spanish consultancy E - Training.

University of Cono Sur has a portal for online learning for teachers.

References

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