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News > Latin America

Paying Kids to Stay in School Reduces Bolivia's Dropout Rate

  • President Evo Morales wants students to continue their education.

    President Evo Morales wants students to continue their education. | Photo: ABI

Published 16 October 2015
Opinion

Every year the government rewards students who stay in school with a US$30 bonus.

School came to a close earlier than normal for millions of students in Bolivia on Friday – and students left with a little more money in their pocket.

Every year, the state of Bolivia pays those who stay in school US$30. More than 2 million students benefit from the annual giveaway, which is credited with steadily reducing the South American country’s dropout rate.

Eight-year-old Erlan Chipana told teleSUR English he was happy with his money, but he wanted more. “I want 200,000 Bolivianos (US$30,000) because I want to buy a computer!”

Other students were more content. “The money will help me buy useful stuff for school like books, folders and shoes,” said Franz Huariste.

The giveaways are funded by the profits generated from 13 state companies. This year alone almost US$65 million dollars was raised for students across the country.

RELATED: Chilean Students March for Free Education

Bolivian President Evo Morales personally handed out some of the cash to pupils in the city of Sucre. Morales said that in some countries a ‘’crisis in capitalism’’ meant social programs such as this were being scaled back. The opposite, he said, is happening in Bolivia.

“Bolivia continues to grow,” Morales told students. “Bolivia is no longer a state beggar as before. It’s a state respected throughout the world.”

Government statistics show the scheme is working.

In the nine years since it was first introduced, the government has succeeded in reducing the school dropout rate in primary schools from 5.27 percent to 1.71 percent. As for secondary schools: the rate has been almost cut in half from a high of 8 percent in 2006 to 4.4 percent this year.

“We want all Bolivian children to complete not just primary and secondary school, but to become graduates,” Veronica Ramos, a Minister for Development, told teleSUR english.

To get the special allowance, students have to have a high attendance rate at school.

Valeria Coronel, a parent of a student, says the money “is a great help.” It’s an incentive, she said, for the children to study “and for the parents it’s a great support because we can buy them useful things like uniforms.”

The government has said that even though revenue from the oil and gas sector are expected to decline next year, it will continue to invest in programs like this for students.

That means pupils like 7-year-old Joselyn Ximena will continue to reap the benefits. But she’s not interested in buying pens and paper. “I’m going to spend my money on a pair of glasses,” she told teleSUR english.

While tied to education, it seems the students have their own ideas about how they will use the bonus to improve their lives.

RELATED: Bolivia Sets Date For Referendum On Evo Morales Re-election

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