Monday. The Bolivariano school (private) was having a parents meeting, providing another perfect opportunity to hand out some questionnaires. The one complaint; the meeting started at 6.30am. Whilst I picked up Joni in good time, we didnt have the benefit of Gerardos guidance this morning as he had other things to do, so it was up to us to find our own way. Whilst the Aguablanca design is based on a grid system and supposedly easy to follow, addresses remain long and complicated even for taxi drivers, consequently we arrive 20 minutes late for our appointment. The meeting culture in Colombia is however different and delays are part of the process, hence whilst most Europeans would have drifted away by now our audience was still waiting patiently. We gratefully received 15 completed questionnaires and then relaxed in conversation with the school owner, a cheerful lady on the edge of retirement. She has been on the edge for sometime it seems but feels so committed to the school that she is unable to let go. Whilst she is optimistic about the future she has many concerns, finance being the most prominent among them. Testimony from other private institutions has indicated that whilst many are within the government subside programme(PAC) payments are often less than anticipated and/or delayed leaving the school and teachers in particular feeling the pinch.
The next school on the list is another small private institution, Gran Colombia which is just around the corner. We had already visited the school the previous week but once again were unable to make introductions as the DoS was unavailable. We took a phone number and promised to make a call before trying again at some point in the future.
Next on the list was Los Robles (private) to retrieve completed DoS and teacher questionnaires. No problems here and we were welcome to return any day at around 12.00pm to interview the parents. Finally we visited El Poblado (private) to confirm the date of the parents meeting. The secretary told us that there were 2 meetings this Friday, a day that will require careful planning as it coincides with parents meetings at El Diamante (Public) and Sur Oriental (private). It promises to be a very busy day.
Tuesday. We met Gerardo at 10am and headed for Santa Rosa (Public) in Poblado2. Victor wasnt available until mid-day so we headed towards Morales Pino (Private) promising to return in the early afternoon. Once again a group of parents were available and willing to consume a little of their time on our behalf. No problems have been identified with the principle part of the questionnaire but once again explanations were required to manage the supplementary attachment regarding school choice. In order to avoid confusion and frustration therefore, I asked the parents simply to mark the 3 most important factors in school choice from the list provided. Obviously this is not ideal but I believe I can still derive useful information without radical change which hardly seems appropriate 6 weeks into the process.

We returned to Santa Rosa for our meeting with the DoS, Victor. He certainly seems a very committed individual and had a number of points to make regarding the questionnaires. One of the principle issues he highlighted was student turnover and its effect on budgetary planning. A significant percentage of the students in the school are from displaced families many of whom dont have a permenant home and the stability that comes with it. Consequently, students come and go at a disturbing rate making the process of education particularly difficult. Victor indicated that local government do have management strategies but neither the will nor the finances to fulfil their commitments. However according to Victor, there is light at the end of the tunnel as he showed us glossies for a number of new, large scale, educational centres planned for Aguablanca. It all looked very impressive and there can be little doubt that the existing public establishments are old, tired and well beyond their sell-by dates. However, will these plans be considered in view of the broader question; whether the public sector is indeed the best provider of education in poor regions and would a raft of good private schools be forced to close in the presence of a pubic monopoly. Would the money be better spent supporting the private infrastructure and helping them increaase access for the poor?
After Santa Rosa we head toward Luz Haydee (public), a appointment Id been greatly anticipating given the notable enthusiasm of the deputy DoS and his staff to our investigations. Were we in for a disappointment!! At the gate we met the DoS himself who once again pleaded ignorance, politely fobbed us off and pointing us in the direction of his deputy. Ive not been impressed with him but it didnt represent a problem as the deputy head had always been our primary contact at this institution. From the beginning however it was clear that the deputy was irritated by our presence and our requests, indicating that none of the teachers had returned their paperwork and if we wanted a reply then we should go directly to each classroom and approach the staff individually. Chastened, we walked around the school collecting just 2 of the 12 questionnaires we had originally distributed. We returned to the deputys office to politely indicate the shortfall only to be confronted by a barrage of excuses and an added dash of venom. We sympathised with his predicaments and indicated that there was never any obligation associated with our research. As we prepared to leave, he became a little more conciliatory and asked us to return on Monday by which time he promised to have everything completed. We had already left the premises when a single teacher who witnessed the deputys diatribe called our attention. I recognised this individual but Ill keep his/her identity secret for reasons that will become clear. Our contact asked what the research was about and queried why s/he hadnt received a copy of the questionnaire. In view of the number of children in the area and the lack of resources, many schools operate on 2 shifts and unfortunalely none of his/her shift were notified of our work. Our teacher dismissed the selected group of teachers as predominantly apathetic and asked me for copies of the questionnaires for his/her colleagues promising a more realistic response. What did s/he mean?
Our contacts principle complaints concerned school management who s/he accused of lack of support and unwilling to address the real issues surrounding the school, particularly violence and drugs. Next, s/he complained of a profound lack of resources and how his/her children lacked both books and materials. Finally and most insistently, s/he accused the management of spin more interested in presenting a positive image of the school than actually concentrating on real and sustainable improvement. It was certainly a kick in the teeth for Luz Haydee but in view of the insecure and superficial behaviour of the deputy head, perhaps we shouldnt have been too surprised. Before departing, our contact took a fist full of questionnaires and promised to deliver a more realistic impression of the institution by the time we returned. It will certainly make for interesting reading.