海角大神

Four kids. One cellphone. No internet.

That was the distance-learning setup for Jos茅 Luis Torrez鈥檚 family in Tilata, Bolivia, a town on the outskirts of La Paz, at the start of the pandemic. 鈥淲e were blowing through our savings鈥� to buy phone credit, says Mr. Torrez, who runs a mechanic鈥檚 garage. But in early August, not long after a neighbor helped Mr. Torrez set up a Wi-Fi connection, Bolivia鈥檚 department of education canceled the rest of the school year.

Ever since schooling moved online last spring, just a month after classes started in the Southern Hemisphere, millions of Bolivians without access to the internet or electronic devices struggled to keep their children learning and engaged. The government argued that continuing digital classes through November, typically the end of the school year, was simply unrealistic聽鈥� pointing to disagreements with the teachers union, its inability to provide universal education online, and the public-health danger of in-person classes.聽

鈥淛ust like any parent, our dream is for the kids to achieve more and go further than their parents,鈥� says Mr. Torrez, whose children range from 4 to 12 years old. 鈥淚 always hoped they鈥檇 become professionals.鈥�

鈥淎fter this,鈥� he says with a sad laugh, 鈥淏olivia鈥檚 best hope may be for a generation of mediocre professionals.鈥澛�

Bolivia has been through the wringer over the past year: From a contested presidential election, nationwide political protests, and the flight of its leftist ex-president, to a right-wing caretaker government that has postponed new elections, and the arrival of COVID-19. The political unrest and presidential elections promised for next month have created an additional layer of uncertainty. Although nongovernmental organizations, individual teachers, international organizations, and even the Ministry of Education are trying to bridge the schooling gap, many observers and parents are concerned about the well-being of Bolivia鈥檚 children 鈥� and the future of the nation.

鈥淚magine the implications of having six months without any type of instruction,鈥� says Gustavo Sever, the director of a private school in Cochabamba. 鈥淣ot having the continuity of formal education 鈥� whether virtual or not 鈥� is huge. You create a discrepancy and create gaps between the world and the students in this country,鈥� he says. As a private school, Mr. Sever鈥檚 institution is still offering online courses, though nearly 60% of parents withdrew their children, in many cases due to economic hardship, once the academic year became optional.

The government says all students will be promoted to the next academic year, regardless of grades or attendance.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a child鈥檚 right to access education and it鈥檚 the responsibility of the state to provide that,鈥� Mr. Sever says.

Continental challenge

Only about 25% of Bolivian households had broadband internet in 2016, well below the Latin American average of 45%, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. A 2018 report by Bolivia鈥檚 Agency for Electronic Government and Information and Communication Technologies found only 42% of Bolivians have access to a computer and 10% have fixed internet. In rural areas the numbers are ever more extreme: 19% and 3%, respectively.

鈥淭he vast majority of rural areas don鈥檛 have internet,鈥� Yerko N煤帽ez, a government minister, said in August when clarifying the decision to end the school year early. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no other option than to close out the year.鈥�

The Ministry of Education did not respond to written request for comment.

鈥淭he pandemic lifted a veil on the historic disparities that still exist in Bolivia,鈥� says Lina Beltr谩n, chief of education for UNICEF Bolivia.

鈥淲hen education systems collapse, [peaceful], prosperous and productive societies are undermined,鈥� Ms. Beltr谩n writes in an email. 鈥淭he learning losses also threaten to extend beyond this generation and erase decades of progress, not least in support of girls and young women鈥檚 educational access and retention.鈥� She notes that the longer students are out of school, the more likely they are to drop out entirely, and estimates the closures could decrease affected students鈥� future earnings by 8% to 10%.

Plenty of Latin American countries struggle with internet access. But Bolivia is the only one to use it as a reason to halt education entirely.

Mexico deployed pre-recorded, televised classes featuring trained actors and teachers to reach its estimated 30 million public school students. It鈥檚 not a perfect model for learning, says Gabriel S谩nchez Zinny, an expert on Latin American education. But it鈥檚 a success in terms of the government trying to reach the most vulnerable.

鈥淭V may not be the best, but it鈥檚 certainly better than nothing,鈥� says Mr. Zinny, the former education minister for the province of Buenos Aires. 鈥淕overnments aren鈥檛 making enough of an effort to create opportunities and share knowledge鈥� during the pandemic.

Peru, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil have incorporated some televised education into their distance learning approaches, as well. The Dominican Republic has expanded free access to internet hotspots across the country and teamed up with a cellphone company to offer internet plans at special prices. In Buenos Aires, government institutions already delivering meals to vulnerable children are also printing out school materials for students without access to computers or printers.

鈥淜ids are desperate to do work鈥�

In Bolivia, public school teachers are still receiving their salaries, and many are still making an effort to send students materials, parents say. Some educators put on superhero costumes to try and keep their students motivated online, while others travel house to house to try to keep their most isolated students looped in. There are targeted efforts to reach children in secluded Indigenous communities, like radio education programs that UNICEF estimates reach more than 6,000 children. The United Nations organization also teamed up with cellphone provider Tigo Bolivia to provide teacher trainings for online instruction, counseling for students, and other resources for not just learning but staying healthy during the pandemic.

For Alicia Layme, the pandemic has been a blur of stress. Her husband, a construction worker, lost his job. Her family, complete with an 8-month-old baby, 8-year-old, and 10-year-old, have been forced to move twice due to evictions over late rent payments.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what to do. We can鈥檛 cry anymore,鈥� Ms. Layme says. 鈥淭hese schools don鈥檛 recognize the realities for so many of us.鈥� Many students didn鈥檛 have a chance to buy their books for the academic year before Bolivia mandated a quarantine. She doesn鈥檛 have a smartphone, and before classes were called off,聽her kids鈥� teachers were frustrated that she couldn鈥檛 receive photos of assignments and print them out. Her kids told her she鈥檚 not their teacher when she tried to help them through tough homework.

But Ms. Layme says her family is fortunate in some respects. A local initiative run by the international NGO Bolivia Kids and the local Sariry Foundation delivers food and psychological support to communities surrounding La Paz. Roughly 30 families, or 70 kids, have weekly visits from three foundation staff who give informal lessons on the street in front of participants鈥� homes.

鈥淜ids are desperate to do work,鈥� says Elisa Aguilar, director of programs and community development for Bolivia Kids. On top of connectivity challenges, many parents don鈥檛 have enough education themselves to help their children with schoolwork. Staff members walk from house to house 鈥� there鈥檚 no public transportation running in the area 鈥� delivering printouts or giving lessons.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to see a lot of kids dropping out of school next year 鈥� nationwide,鈥� Ms. Aguilar says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to help in the ways we can, but at a certain point, we all feel powerless.鈥�

Ms. Layme can relate.

鈥淧arents are told we have to make sacrifices for our kids,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hat does that even mean at this point? Am I supposed to steal phone credit so that my child can keep learning?鈥�

Ms. Layme says the distance education situation was bad, "but there are alternatives to closing schools or doing it online.鈥澛�

鈥淭he government just needed to try.鈥�