Towards a Proposal to Study the Policy Making Process at the Basic Educational Level in Colombia

Abstract

Statistics, indicators and opinions suggest serious and diverse problems of the Basic Educational System (BES) in Colombia. What are exactly the problems, what are their causes and what are their solutions are very difficult and debated questions. Some of the problems that have been mentioned (See Duarte, 1996 and Misión de Ciencia, Educación y Desarrollo, 1994) are the following: policies are not the result of a holistic study of the BES; so they are focused only on particular aspects of the system; policies are defined without a consistent information system to support them; there is not any continuity in policies; the administration of public education is very politicized; the quality of education is very poor, etc. Many of the problems are related to a great extent to formulation, implementation or evaluation of policies, that is to say, to the Policy Making Process (PMP).