00:00During the last few months, the Ministry of Science, led by Yesenio Laya,
00:03has boasted about the results of one of its main strategies,
00:08Colombia Robotics.
00:09That led us to build this program which consists of providing technology
00:13plus the adaptation of the classroom so that young people and students have a space
00:18that truly benefits their learning.
00:21In short, the program aims to equip schools across the country
00:25with robotics labs and STEM tools
00:28to promote scientific vocations in girls and boys.
00:32Precisely because of an episode related to that strategy,
00:35It was that at the end of May there was a clash between the Ministry and the Bogotá Education Secretariat.
00:40At that moment, Olaya said that they had not allowed her to enter the school.
00:43to deliver a robotics laboratory,
00:46something that the Ministry of Education later denied.
00:49In the end, the laboratory was delivered on July 15th.
00:52But that episode raised several questions about the handover of those laboratories,
00:56the implementation of the Colombia Robotics Strategy
00:59and especially regarding the sustainability of the program.
01:02So in this video we want to tell you what we found when we visited one of those laboratories
01:07where President Petro studied,
01:10What do some of the Secretaries of Education who have received them think?
01:14And why are there some concerns from experts and local authorities?
01:19and even officials from the same government.
01:21The first one has to do with the selection of schools.
01:24The laboratory we visited is located at the La Salle School in Zipaquirá.
01:28As we toured their facilities,
01:31Adney Ramírez, Secretary of Education for the municipality,
01:33He told us that the decision to choose that school was not based on a technical criterion.
01:38She explained that a few months ago she received a call from the Ministry of Science.
01:41to tell him that they wanted to set up a laboratory in the municipality.
01:44When he asked why it had to be at La Salle College
01:47and not in others with greater needs,
01:50They replied that it had to be done there,
01:51because it was where President Gustavo Petro had studied.
01:55Before continuing, it is worth making a clarification.
01:58The strategy works through an agreement between MinCiencias and the National University.
02:03The university designs the pedagogical component,
02:05Purchase the equipment and support teachers in using those spaces.
02:10MinCiencias, for its part, oversees the agreement
02:12and defines which institutions will benefit.
02:16When we recorded this video, the Ministry had invested approximately 14 billion pesos.
02:20in the installation of 34 laboratories distributed in 24 municipalities of the country.
02:26The largest number is in Tumaco, Nariño, the hometown of Minister Yesenio Laya.
02:30Regarding that distribution, MinCiencias responded that the selection of the venues
02:34It was done in accordance with the rules of the call for proposals and the conditions of each territory,
02:38with the purpose of ensuring the proper execution of the program.
02:42On screen you can see the map with the distribution of the laboratories.
02:46Now, let's move on to another concern: sustainability.
02:50The official support provided by the National University lasts 10 months.
02:54After that period, the laboratories are left in the hands of the territorial entities.
02:59The problem is that many municipalities do not have those resources
03:01to maintain this type of infrastructure.
03:04This is what Hamilton Vives, Secretary of Education of Apartado, Antioquia, told us, for example.
03:09Laura Arbeláez, researcher at the Laboratory of Economics of Education of the Javeriana University,
03:14He also has another concern.
03:16He points out that there is still no clarity on who will take over the maintenance of the equipment in the future.
03:21Without a strategy to guarantee these processes, he warns there is a risk that laboratories
03:26end up becoming white elephants.
03:29In response to these criticisms, both MinCiencias and the National University
03:32They assert that one of the program's objectives is precisely to strengthen educational projects.
03:37institutional through the STEM approach.
03:40Furthermore, they point out that it is more than just a delivery of supplies; it also strengthens the schools.
03:45with in-person support in their territories
03:47so that teachers can become familiar with the laboratories,
03:50Learn to use the equipment and develop prototypes related to your projects.
03:54In addition, they provide expert support to design and implement STEM initiatives together with their students,
04:00from identifying problems in their environment to building and sharing those solutions.
04:07The final concern relates to the lack of a way to evaluate the program's results.
04:13As the National University explained to us, the program does not apply in a general way.
04:17a standardized test before and after the intervention to determine its success.
04:22The challenge, they say, is to build a longitudinal evaluation that allows them to measure its educational effects
04:27institutional and territorial in the medium and long term.
04:31And as a bonus, the Education Economics Laboratory at Javeriana University has another concern.
04:37The dismantling of Colombia Robotics with the Ondas program, also of MinCiencias.
04:43But if you want to know more about this and all the details of this report,
04:47We invite you to read the full article in the Science section of El Espectador.
04:51that here we do pay attention to what is happening with science in Colombia.
05:12Thanks for watching the video.
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