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Professors Flee, Higher Education Suffers in Venezuela

Published

9 years ago

June 11, 2015

In this Thursday, May 28, 2015 photo, a teacher with the head covered by a box with a sign that reads in Spanish “Salary raise now” during a protest at Venezuela’s Central University, UCV, in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

JORGE RUEDA, Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela has already lost many of its brightest young professionals to better-paying jobs abroad, and now the South American country is also losing the professors who trained them.

College professors in this socialist country plagued by a cash crunch, shortages and spiraling inflation are abandoning their jobs in droves, unable or unwilling to survive on salaries as minuscule as $30 per month at the widely used black market exchange rate.

Before, instructors earned enough to buy homes and cars, and universities sponsored them for professional development courses abroad. But the last decade has seen only increases to the minimum wage for professors, meaning that the income gap between senior and junior educators has disappeared and all are now left with a similar paltry wage.

Hundreds of professors have given up their posts in recent years, and the pace is accelerating, according to the teachers’ union. More than 700 of the 4,000 professors who once taught at the highly respected Central University of Venezuela in Caracas have quit during the last four years, some taking better-paying jobs in other fields inside the country while others have been lured to academic posts at universities abroad.

Professors warn that the exodus will have a multiplier effect as it lowers the quality of teaching and research at institutions once nurtured by Venezuelans who studied abroad and returned home to teach. Now, those who leave the country to pursue advanced degrees rarely come back.

“We’re going to feel the consequences of this for generations to come,” said 52-year-old biology professor Pedro Rodriguez, who is working as a researcher at the University of Chicago while on sabbatical from his full-time job at Central University. He is now weighing whether to retire and remain permanently in the United States.

The Ministry of Higher Education did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the academic exodus.

Teachers say they can’t make it on the small salaries the government offers, and are tired of the official neglect that affects Central University and other autonomous public universities that were once the jewels in the crown of the nation’s educational system.

The 16-year-old socialist revolution launched by late President Hugo Chavez has instead emphasized the government’s “revolutionary universities,” which offer free education to thousands of students who might otherwise have skipped college.

Meanwhile, the autonomous institutions get less attention and strangled budgets. The government provides funding, but does not run them directly. The autonomous institutions are free like the revolutionary universities, but they are also much more selective, out of reach for all but the best students.

Victor Marquez, president of the professors’ association at the Central University, said the government has flattened professors’ pay scales and slashed funding, this year granting only 39 percent of the budget it requested.

University professors had already begun to leave their posts when the government froze wages in 2010, leaving the remaining educators at the mercy of inflation that economists believe is the world’s highest, he said. Top professors now make the equivalent of $35 at the black market rate.

At the leafy, secluded Central University campus, students complain that classes they want are not offered, and that their professors are demoralized.

“The school is going through a bad time, and sooner or later the quality of the education is going to suffer,” said Hasler Iglesias, who studies chemical engineering.

Many of the teachers who have stayed supplement their income with part-time jobs or take sabbaticals to work and save money. Just 10 percent of professors at Central University’s business school work full time.

Isabel Carmona, 61, speed walks along the corridors of a bungalow that has served as the business school’s temporary offices for a year.

She does it all, from mentoring junior colleagues, to advising graduate students, to seeking donations for a video projector, and looking for a fan to make up for the lack of air conditioning. She’s been working a second job at an office in the morning to save money so she can visit her children, who live in Florida.

“This school is a school that trains business managers, that trains accountants, and it has no full-time staff,” she said. “I would never say to a young person now, ‘you should stay here and teach.'”

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Atty General Rob Bonta Joins Coalition Backing Pres. Biden’s Migrant Parole Program

“The Biden Administration’s CHNV Parole Program provides a safe pathway to apply for protection for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, or Venezuelan migrants fleeing violence and upheaval. We urge the court to uphold this program that creates orderly processes for people fleeing humanitarian crises to lawfully reach the United States,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The federal government has exercised its authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to parole migrants into the country for humanitarian purposes since the Eisenhower Administration.

Published

2 months ago

August 17, 2024

Oakland Post

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a multistate coalition of 18 attorneys general to write an amicus brief supporting President Joe Bidens’s Parole Program for migrants fleeing violence.

The multistate coalition will submit the brief to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the case Texas v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The brief endorses Biden’s Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV Parole Program). The migrant parole program allows individuals from the four countries to apply for advance travel authorization. Migrants can be considered for temporary humanitarian parole of up to two years including employment authorization.

The coalition highlighted California’s interest in maintaining the federal government’s discretionary power granting migrants entry or allowing immigrants to stay on humanitarian grounds.

“In California, we believe that migrants escaping violence should be treated with compassion and dignity, and immigration parole programs are a crucial part of a just and secure immigration system,” said Bonta.

The federal government has exercised its authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to parole migrants into the country for humanitarian purposes since the Eisenhower Administration.

The coalition argued that the lawsuit in Texas threatened to undermine the federal government’s authority to establish crucial programs that help migrants escape unstable circumstances in their home countries.

The coalition stated that parole provides safe, legal, and orderly pathways for people to seek protection in the United States.

However, opponents claim that parole pathways help increase crime and impose costs on states.

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‘Ngingubani:’ Who Am I? How DNA and Oral History Helps Black Youth Connect to Tribal Roots

‘I didn’t know who I was.’ This was not an uncommon belief for teenage boys plucked from the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa. Often disconnected from their families and living on the streets, they had little evidence of strong family ties. Maybe their story sounds familiar to you. Maybe you find yourself asking similar questions: Who am I? Where do I actually belong?

Published

4 months ago

June 7, 2024

Oakland Post

Participants of the program gather for a cultural celebration with family members shortly following their reconnection. Courtesy photo.

By Chelsea Trautman

‘I didn’t know who I was.’

This was not an uncommon belief for teenage boys plucked from the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa. Often disconnected from their families and living on the streets, they had little evidence of strong family ties. Maybe their story sounds familiar to you. Maybe you find yourself asking similar questions: Who am I? Where do I actually belong?

These questions were the initial inspiration for the Johannesburg Applied Ancestry Program launched in 2006 by researcher and program coordinator Clive Haydon, and Dr. Brian Hill, a university professor at Brigham Young University.

The program’s name: “Ngingubani,” or “Who am I?” in the African Zulu language, has a goal to help teenage boys between the ages of 12-16 better understand their identities by learning and sharing their own family stories.

Connect

One story included a young boy who was separated from his biological mother when he was only 5 years old. Having no written history or knowledge of his family, his story was like many at the Twilight Children’s Center in Johannesburg where the program took place.

Through outreach to extended family, program social workers were able to find this young boy’s mother and facilitate their reuniting nearly 14 years after their separation.

After being connected with unknown relatives, participants sat down for an interview to learn the stories of those who had gone before them: the boys developed a stronger sense of self after hearing their rich oral history from people who shared their blood, culture, and heritage.

Robyn Fivush, PhD and professor of Psychology at Emory University stated: “These kinds of family stories create meaning beyond the individual. To include a sense of self through historical time and in relation to family members” (Jorgenson & Bochner, 2004: Norris, Kuiack, & Pratt, 2004).

Belong

The interviews and DNA samplings gave insight about these young boy’s native ancestral tribes. While not all participants were reunited with parents, they were all still able to connect with a living relative.

Through a culminating cultural celebration, participants at the Twilight Children’s Center dressed in traditional tribal clothing, and shared dances, artwork, and personal stories from the knowledge they gained during the program. This emotional tearful event made the boys feel valued by their parents and motivated their belief in who they could become.

Become

Thanks to DNA testing and family history stories, many can now discover their heritage and find a similar connection and belonging with deceased and distant family members.

A great way to begin is by telling family stories. Tell them as they are, setting aside opinions and personal bias to allow one’s family to interpret the meaning themselves.

For information on how to start, visit: familysearch.org, or through visiting a cemetery or by celebrating an ancestor’s birthday.

The ripple effect of family storytelling has the capacity to answer “Ngingubani.”

Chelsea Trautman is a research assistant at Brigham Young University.

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Oakland Ambassadors Strengthen Ties and Aid Efforts in Ghana

Oakland natives and esteemed members of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), Jonathan P. Jones and Dr. Maritony Efua Jones, recently embarked on a significant journey to Ghana as guests of the World Martial Authority Ghana. This trip signifies a crucial opportunity to bolster partnerships, explore new avenues of collaboration, and contribute to impactful initiatives in Ghana.

Published

5 months ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Elder Jorg Klebingat, Flint Mensah, Richard Burton, H.E. Dr. Maritony Jones, Amb. Jonathan Jones, Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, Elder Alfred Kyungu. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

This trip signifies a crucial opportunity to bolster partnerships, explore new avenues of collaboration, and contribute to impactful initiatives in Ghana.

Upon their arrival at Katota Airport in Accra, Ghana, the Joneses were warmly received by His Royal Majesty Okatakyie Asafo Boakye III, the distinguished king of Sanzule Kingdom in the Eastern Nzema, and Etse Nyamedi of World Martial Authority, Ghana.

Nyamedi accompanied the Joneses to the city of Mepe, which had recently experienced flooding, to assess damages and engage with local leaders, elders, and youth regarding the city’s urgent needs after major floods last fall.

Key concerns and priorities identified by the community include comprehensive flood mitigation measures, agricultural support, housing initiatives, educational enhancements, improved healthcare access, and the development of communal recreational spaces.

The Joneses were also graciously invited to meet with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at their headquarters in Accra. This meeting provided insights into ongoing humanitarian efforts in Ghana and explored avenues for collaboration to further assist Ghanaian communities.

The LDS leaders shared their prompt response to the recent flood, demonstrating their commitment to humanitarian aid by dispatching substantial supplies including medical provisions, sanitation items, blankets, and food to assist flood victims just four days after the disaster.

Additionally, Boakye extended a special invitation to the Joneses to his palace, where they were pleasantly surprised with a heartfelt recognition ceremony. Maritony Jones was honored as the Queen Mother of the Sanzule Kingdom in acknowledgment of her dedicated work, while Jonathan Jones was lauded and welcomed as the ambassador of the Sanzule Kingdom, symbolizing a meaningful homecoming to their ancestral land.

The visit not only strengthens ties between Oakland and Ghana but also underscores the collaborative spirit and commitment to meaningful progress and humanitarian endeavors shared by all involved parties.