Millennium Schools in Ecuador: Role to Improving Creativity

Are Millennium Schools a Solution to Improve Creativity Education in Ecuador?

 

Abstract

In this research paper we will talk about the millennium schools in Ecuador and its role to improve creativity in the country’s school. The goal is to show what the millennium schools are and explain why the government invests so much in these schools that they can not improve the creativity of education. So when we look a little deeper into this matter we can see that there are many irregularities with these millennium schools that are part of the government’s flagship projects. We will identify the main problems of these schools and will explain in an easy way the reason why these are not the best option to improve the creativity in the education of the country. These are the things we will see in this research paper, from a brief explanation of the millennium schools to explain why these schools are just a waste of money.

Keywords: Millennium school, creativity, education, government.

“Investing in education means investing in hope” (Pope Francisco, 2015).  These words make a lot of sense for today’s society because with education we can change the future and create hope for a better future. Each country has its way of investing in education in the case of the government of Ecuador was invested in a new type of schools called millennium schools. This idea of creating schools of the millennium emerged in 2005 that Ecuador along with 147 other countries subscribed to the declaration of the millennium. The government of Rafael Correa inaugurated the first school of the millennium in the year 2008. With this new type of schools it was thought to improve the creativity in Ecuadorian education and this to create a better future for Ecuador. Its objective was to change the traditional form of education that the country used. These millennium schools are very much criticized and are called white elephant, because they do not fulfill what is expected and cost much more money than a common school. Many people also think that it is unfair to invest a lot of money in building only a few schools and the vast majority of schools remain the same, with very poor infrastructure. Millennial schools are the same as ordinary schools and do not lead to change or improvement of education for the following reasons: firstly, millennium schools have a modern structure, but use same education system as traditional schools; secondly they are white elephant; and finally, they may be end with a new political regime.

1.Modern infrastructure but the same system

First of all, we will start by talking about one of the main problems of the millennium schools, millennium schools have an excellent infrastructure compared to the other schools in Ecuador, but they have the same education system as the rest of Ecuadorian schools. These millennium schools are fully equipped with labs and classrooms but do not have teachers trained for this new type of school. In all of Ecuador there are only 64 millennium schools built totally and another 57 that are being built or is planned its construction. This means that only a small group of students in the country will benefit from these millennium schools. While investing a large amount of money in schools of the millennium the great majority of schools in Ecuador have a poor structure that needs to improve urgently. In millennium schools creativity is not encouraged as planned because these schools have the same education system as the other schools in the country. For these reasons the schools of the millennium do not help to increase the development of the creativity in the Ecuador because they have the same system of education. So all this investment does not change the education of Ecuador.

2.Why they are calledwhite elephant?

Another problem is that millennium schools are called white elephants because people think that these schools are not going to progress and they are only a useless expense of the government that does not worry in solving the main problem of the little creativity in the basic school. The construction of the millennium schools is surrounded by many irregularities. One of these irregularities is its construction. These schools have budgeted a price and in the end always cost a few more than the initial price of construction. People in Ecuador are angry because they invest a lot in these schools alone and there are very few schools with proper infrastructure in Ecuador. For these reasons people think that this project is not sustainable and does not help the development of Ecuador. These millennium schools are just an act of populism of the government since it builds them very few. For the things written above is that many people say that the schools of the millennium are a white elephant that is determined to fail because of its high costs of construction and because it has the same educational system that is the rest of the schools in the country.

3.The project may end with a new political regime.

A very serious problem of these millennium schools is that they could end if the government of Rafael Correa comes out of power. With a new system of government the schools of the millennium would be stagnant. Currently the Ecuadorian government has many economic problems due to the low price of oil. The next government to be elected in 2017 will not have the resources to complete the construction of the millennium schools and would leave that project in the trash. This means that the following elections in Ecuador will define what will happen with many emblematic projects that the current regime has. It is very possible that the next president of Ecuador will cancel the millennium schools and other projects.

Conclusion

In summary there are many negative aspects in the millennium schools that show us that these schools can not be able to improve creativity in the educational system of Ecuador. The correct thing would be to invest to improve all the schools of the country at the same time and to change the educational system of education. It would be necessary to start with basic education from teachers, parents and students. In order to fulfill the goal of 21st century education, the millennium schools must change the old boring and memorable education to a new education in which the creativity of all is important. So the first thing that should be done is for the government to stop constructing new schools and to invest in improving the infrastructure of the schools that already exist in the country. When all the schools in the country have a new infrastructure, it will begin to improve creative education. In conclusion the millennium schools are very expensive to build and are not a solution to improve the creativity in Ecuadorian education.

References

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Childress, Sarah (2007) A Young Tinkerer Builds a Windmill, Electrifying a Nation

Segal, Susan (2016) The case for disruption in Latin America’s classrooms

Ossola, Alexandra. (2014). Scientists Are More Creative Than You Might Imagine. The atlantic.