Researchers are partnering with IPA Colombia and Juntos Aprendemos to explore the influence that Venezuelan migration has had on Colombia´s education system, focusing mainly on learning and integration.

The Colombian government has recently instituted multiple policies to regularize Venezuelan migrants in the country, allowing them to access services and participate in work and education more fully. In 2017, the government established the Permiso Especial de Permanencia (PEP) to grant temporary residence and access to social services, including education, to Venezuelan migrants.¹ In 2021, the government launched the Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan Migrants (TPS), which grants Venezuelans the right to stay and work for up to 10 years, with a pathway to obtaining permanent residency. Starting in 2022, only children enrolled in the education system can apply to the TPS program.² The total number of migrant students in basic and secondary education increased from around 33 thousand students in 2017 to 630 thousand in 2023.

Researchers are partnering with IPA Colombia and Juntos Aprendemos— a consortium funded by USAID aiming at developing programs to improve education quality in Colombia—to examine the influence that Venezuelan migration has had on Colombia´s education system, focusing mainly on outcomes related to learning and integration. To do so, researchers are analyzing administrative data from SIMAT (the Colombian Enrollment System) and conducting a survey with children, parents, caregivers, teachers, and school principals. They are measuring indicators including migrants' enrollment, student retention in schools, academic achievement, school climate, expectations and integration of migrants in schools, reallocation of school resources, and interactions between Venezuelan migrant and Colombian students.

Results will be available in 2025.

Sources

^1. “Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores - Normograma [RESOLUCION 5797 de 2017 Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores].” 2017. Cancilleria.gov.co. 2017. https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/sites/default/files/Normograma/docs/resolucion_minrelaciones_5797_2017.htm.

^2. “Estatuto Temporal de Protección Para Personas Venezolanos (ETPV) | the Global Compact on Refugees | UNHCR.” 2021. The Global Compact on Refugees | UNHCR. 2021. https://globalcompactrefugees.org/good-practices/estatuto-temporal-de-proteccion-para-personas-venezolanos-etpv.

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