Bishops denounce ideological imposition in educational material in Bolivia

January 19, 2023 / 12:45 p.m.

The Bolivian Episcopal Conference (CEB) described the Government’s proposal for the 2023 school management as “unilateral”, and criticized “ideological impositions” in the contents.

The Bolivian prelates made their position public at a press conference headed by the Auxiliary Bishop of San Ignacio de Velasco and President of the Education Area of ​​the CEB, Msgr. Fernando Bascopé.

He was accompanied by Fr. Diego Plá, assistant general secretary, and Jorge Fernández, from the Education Department of the CEB.

With “deep concern”, they criticized the new curricular design, which compromises “the few achievements, achievements and efforts” of the last two administrations.

In addition, they regretted that the State has defined the contents unilaterally, without taking into account the contribution and reflection of the institutions that work in education.

On the other hand, they indicated that the responsibility of governments and municipalities in the provision of materials or in the construction and improvement of infrastructure is not clear.

The curricular design, they warned, includes themes “of the internal jurisdiction of the family”, which without the adequate context “only produce confusion and disorientation”.

This is the case of the contents of Comprehensive Sexual Education, which are present in all plans and levels, from initial to secondary.

This violates the right and responsibility of parents “to educate their children in love for life,” they said.

On the contrary, it points to a “depersonalized and utilitarian” society, they denounced.

For this reason, they asked the Ministry of Education “to review and attend to the requests that teachers and parents have already made.”

At the same time, they encouraged parents, teachers, and students to have a “critical sense, based on principles and values, not on ideological impositions.”

(Article continues later)

Last week, in a television interview with the Iglesia Viva en Diálogo program, Jorge Fernández referred to the issue.

There, he affirmed that the CEB presented proposals for the new curricular design.

“We have carried them out, what’s more, we met with the Association of Teachers of Religious Spirituality Values, the document was reviewed, contributions were made, especially on the issue of gender ideology,” he explained.

However, the secretary regretted that the Ministry of Education has not taken their contributions into account.

He also questioned that “by increasing subjects, the deepening that must be given to each of them is being reduced.”

Bishops denounce ideological imposition in educational material in Bolivia