By Catalina Reyes and Maria Andreina Cantele
Venezuela is grappling with an education crisis, marked by low quality and high teacher dropout rates. From 2018 to 2021, 25% of teachers left the system. However, many remain in schools, even when salaries barely cover the cost of a carton of eggs per month.
In January 2024, we traveled to Caracas with the support of the Harvard Center for International Development to understand how teachers are able to continue teaching. Our exploration aimed to uncover their realities while identifying grassroots solutions to improve learning opportunities for the over eight million children of school age in Venezuela.
In the buzzing Petare neighborhood, we met Johana, a public-school teacher who confirmed that teacher salaries aren’t nearly enough, and teachers feel overlooked. To make a living, she has three jobs. In the morning, Johana teaches at a subsidized school and then at a public school in the afternoon. She does private tutoring for children in her neighborhood whenever she has spare time.
Johana’s story was not unique. All of the teachers we spoke to mentioned how entrepreneurial they have become to make enough money to survive. Some use their skills for private tutoring, while others work in food vending, hairdressing, and other activities. To handle these different roles, teachers operate under what is known as the “Horario Mosaico” schedule, in which they go to school only two or three times a week and use the rest of their time to pursue other endeavors, resulting in children not being able to attend school every day.
Although far from ideal, these and other grassroots solutions have been key to keep the system alive amid adversity.
How are schools coping with the teacher shortage?
Losing staff has been inevitable for most schools. Although Horario Mosaico has given relative flexibility that prevents some teachers from quitting, school networks have requested that teachers cover multiple subjects —often beyond their primary areas of expertise—to tackle the shortage. Schools also rely on older students or mother volunteers, trying to make the best of their limited resources.
Higher education institutions have adapted to this reality and are helping train people who teach. On-going capacity building efforts led by UNIMET and UCAB (two of the main universities in the country) provide flexible programs tailored for these “teachers on the job” who often lack the preparation and materials to be effective in the classroom. The Observatory for Quality Education is also playing a role by implementing remote initiatives.
There has been a decentralization effort in which teachers self-organize into research groups and design context-specific training based on their needs. The Ministry of Education then reviews and certifies, but there is limited evidence about how these are influencing quality. Additionally, programs such as Leo, Juego y Aprendo, which focuses on teaching primary-aged children to read by providing teachers with resources and pedagogical practices, have not only proven effective but, more importantly, serve as crucial sources of motivation and recognition for teachers.
“Around 38,000 children in 300 schools nationwide have access to the program. It has become a mechanism to keep teachers motivated and engaged because it is apolitical, and they see short term results.”
Additionally, community initiatives such as Thais’ childcare center in the Santa Ana slum exemplify the power of grassroots efforts in overcoming the current challenges. Thais and her husband built a learning space to address the needs of children being left out of school, with teachers dedicated to following the national curriculum and providing a positive and enthusiastic learning environment. Supported by a local NGO, the center also doubles as a community dining space for over 75 preschoolers, further indicating the impact of grassroots initiatives in addressing current challenges.
The secret behind those who are thriving
Besides understanding the current coping mechanisms in many schools, we were intrigued by some schools that were outperforming others in academic results. Positive deviants, as we call them, face the same constraints but are somehow managing to thrive. How are they doing it?
Behind every outperforming school, we found an effective principal. When asked how often she observed classrooms and provided teachers with feedback, Milagros, the principal of one excelling public school, seemed almost surprised by our question. “Every day, it is part of my role,” she said. These schools put teachers at the center, using diagnostic assessments to adjust class planning and provide continuous support.
An engaged community surrounds these schools, moving extra miles to retain teachers. They self-organize to provide flexibility and support; for example, salaries are supplemented by small cash or in-kind contributions from parents. Schools offer benefits like food, transportation, emotional support, healthcare, and a strong sense of community and belonging, elements highly valued by teachers.
“In Fe y Alegría, [teachers] see an opportunity for resilience. I think that is key. We have never abandoned them; we were present and have accompanied them, doing our best to support and show solidarity."
A sense of hope from unsung heroes
Our journey to understand Venezuela’s teacher struggle and discover the good practices of those who are doing better despite the circumstances helped us realize the complexity of the problems and the hope that still exists.
What drives this hope is undoubtedly the passion of teachers despite the hardships they are facing. The stories of Johana, Thais, and many others like them showed us that the strong bonds among students, teachers, and their communities are what is keeping the system partially functioning, at least for now.
“Despite the well-known challenges with our salaries, I remain dedicated to my role. I firmly believe in the potential to transform the next generation of Venezuelans, and I understand that such a change begins with the example we set.”
In our view, these teachers are heroes without capes, exerting every effort to support the millions of Venezuelan children for whom the time to learn is now. Hopefully, one day, they will receive the recognition and compensation they deserve.
Note: Our final work entitled “Teacher Shortage in Venezuela: Leveraging Positive Deviance in a Humanitarian Setting” was awarded the 2024 Prize for Outstanding Second Year Policy Analysis. A summary of the work can be found here.
Catalina Reyes
Catalina Reyes an MPA/ID graduate of Harvard Kennedy School. Before joining HKS, Catalina worked at Innovations for Poverty Action, where she managed a research project portfolio in the education, early childhood development, and migration sectors. She also worked as an Advisor in the Colombian Ministry of Technology, guiding the development and implementation of international cooperation ICT-related projects across Colombia. Catalina holds an MSc in Applied Economics from Universidad de los Andes, a BA in Finance from Universidad Externado de Colombia, and a BA in International Relations from the International University in Geneva.
Maria Andreina Cantele
Maria Andreina Cantele is a Venezuelan economist and an MPA/ID graduate of Harvard Kennedy School. She has six years of experience in international development, specializing in monitoring and evaluation and its intersection with gender and education. Prior to graduate school, Maria Andreina worked at Plan International and Innovations for Poverty Action as a monitoring and evaluation specialist of ECD programs in East Africa. Before those experiences, she spent four years at CAF-Latin America Development Bank, working alongside policymakers and evaluating public policies related to violence prevention, education, and gender. She has a BA in Business Economics from Universidad Metropolitana and a graduate degree in Public Management from Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA)
