NEWS: Costa Rican Education Ministry Under Fire, page 1

The Ministry of Educaton have their work cut of for them, as they were bombarded by a large group of protesters which included teachers, students, and parents. The protesters expressed their dismay pertaining to the results of the state exam administered in high schools across the local area. Only 11,000 out of 22,000 students passed the exam, however later that afternoon, an announcement by the ministry of the possibility of a curve calmed the crowd who at one point could be seen actively participating in a protest march through town.

www.ticotimes.net
The Ministry of Education building in downtown San Jos� felt more like a bunker than a government office Tuesday afternoon, with police officers guarding the locked entrances against a crowd of angry parents, students and teachers who filled the street outside for several hours in protest of state exam results that may keep as many as 11,000 students from graduating high school next week.

Inside, the protestors' shouts and chants echoed through the halls as Education Minister Manuel Antonio Bola�os, along with vice-ministers Wilfrido Blanco and Marlen G�mez, met with protesting groups' representatives who demanded that the exams, administered in late November, be re-graded on a curve.

Representatives who returned to the thinning crowd after more than two hours of negotiations drew cheers when they reported the minister had conceded the possibility of a curve, but Bola�os himself struck a less conclusive note inside.

OUTRAGE: Marchers accused the Education Ministry of a �student massacre.�

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The truth behind this very tragic happening must be revealed. Who is at fault here? Is it the teachers, the parents, or the schools? Or could it be part of a larger problem that is out of the control of the single town. It is really neoliberalism? I'm more likely to believe the latter. The amount of students who failed that exam is half the total amount of high schoolers taking that exam. The whole thing to me just sounds suspicious. The heightened reaction from the teachers, parents, and students translates to me that the Education Ministry may be hiding the truth behind the results or the difficulty of the test. Someone I'm sure knows why all of this has taken place and it is only a matter of time before someone else finds out. In the mean time, the Education Ministry better take care of their students for the sake of everyone and the future of the town but I don't believe the blame rests solely on the Education Ministry.

[edit on 21-12-2004 by Banshee]