In Education, Everything Counts

By: Mónica Jiménez González

Director of Strategy, Sustainability and Legal at GeoPark, member of the Board of Directors of the Empresarios por la Educación Foundation (ExE)

Article written for Portafolio

We recently celebrated the International Day of Education, an opportunity to reflect on the importance of education as an essential part of building fairer and more equitable societies.

According to ExE, Colombia increased its educational coverage to over 92% in 2023, but especially in rural areas faces challenges in access, quality and infrastructure. According to the Javeriana University only 60% of children have access to preschool and 46% to secondary education, which fewer than half of children actually complete. The Saber 11 tests show significant gaps in educational quality, particularly in rural and public schools, as well as gender differences with higher dropout rates among women (24%) due to care work.

These figures show the scale of the challenge and the need to constantly assess the focus and impact of investments in education. According to ExE, only 28% of the 2,586 initiatives registered in SIIPE, an information system for private-sector investment in education, have monitoring mechanisms. This presents an opportunity to strengthen projects through indicators that allow us to identify the levers we are activating, generating inputs and tools that allow informed decision-making to maximize the impact of investments in education.

Understanding education as a fundamental and long-term right means that it should be guided by State rather than government policy. The private sector has shown its commitment to projects that strengthen skills, improve infrastructure and promote retention rates over time.

GeoPark’s experience shows how investment based on a deep understanding of different territories can have a comprehensive and sustainable impact on all dimensions of education. Based on a detailed diagnosis that we carry out in the regions where we operate, we identify key needs in educational access, quality and infrastructure, and develop initiatives in territories with our partners. Our work includes efforts to prevent school dropouts through providing 7,000 study kits a year, improving educational quality in seven rural locations in Tauramena, and providing infrastructure. We have also awarded more than 26 university scholarships in Casanare and Putumayo, including a program for women in Science and Engineering, facilitating access to higher education and professional development in our neighboring communities. These investments succeed in building capacity for our regions to be economically sustainable in the long term and for access to education to be inclusive.

Guaranteeing the continuity of these efforts requires effective coordination with the public sector. The 2022-2026 National Development Plan identifies access, retention and institutional strengthening as strategic priorities. However, according to the ExE study, less than 30% of private sector and civil society initiatives align with these priorities.

It is critical that national and local governments work together with the private sector to coordinate objectives and ensure that resources reach those who need them most, and so that