Training
The education system in Peru has since the beginning of
the 1960s expanded greatly in connection with the rapid
urbanization. At the same time, the state's influence over
governance and financing has increased. The proportion of
illiterates in the adult population decreased from 38% in
1963 to 10% in 2007. Almost half of the population speaks
native (Native American) languages, which means that many
primary schools are taught in both Quechua and Spanish. Check topschoolsintheusa for test centers of ACT, SAT, and GRE as well high schools in the country of Peru.
Most children of primary and secondary school age attend
state schools with free education. The primary school starts
at the age of six, is compulsory and consists of six year
courses. The secondary school is divided into two stages, a
2-year old and a 3-year old. In practice, it has two
programs, one university preparation and one more vocational
and technical. The drop-out rate includes one third of
secondary school students.
The higher education, which is conducted at some 80
universities, of which just over half are private,
encompasses larger proportions of the age groups than in
most Latin American countries. Since the 1960s, the
proportion who go to higher education has increased
dramatically. Despite selective intake, the dropout rate
during the studies is large.
In 2002, violent demonstrations were carried out against
the plans to privatize two large Peruvian electricity
companies. 1 were killed and several hundred protesters
injured. After two weeks of demonstrations, Interior
Minister Fernando Rospigliosi resigned, and Toledo suspended
the privatization plans.
In 2003, a Lima court sentenced Vladimiro Montesino to 8
years in prison for fraud. The year before, he had been
jailed for misdemeanor abuse and for illegally taking over
the post of chief of intelligence. He continues to be
charged with a number of other matters.
In 2003, Prime Minister Beatriz Merino resigned, after
being involved in corruption scandals, which she, however,
denied being innocent of.
In April 2004, six people died and hundreds of tourists
were trapped following a landslide near the historic ruins
of Machu Picchu. The landslide severed links between the
ruins and Cuzco.
That same month, the mayor of Ilave at the Bolivia
border, Fernando Cirilo Robles Callomamani was lynched by a
crowd accusing him of corruption. The following month, the
population blocked the roads to Ilave demanding the release
of 7 men accused of taking part in the lynching. Local
leaders stated that the deadline for dialogue between the
government commission and the people had expired without the
central administration taking action.
That same month, hundreds of cocoa growers protested
against the Toledo government in Tingo María in the Peruvian
selva. According to information from the city police, 3
police officers were injured and 12 people were detained.
The clashes occurred as a result of the government's program
of destruction of coca plantations. At the same time,
several hundred nurses in Lima were on strike for higher
wages.
In March 2005, the National Commission for Development
and a Live Without Substances (Comisión Nacional para el
Desarrollo y Vida its Drugs) stated that drugs worth $ 7
billion. US $ is handled annually by the drug barons in
Peru. That is equivalent to 50% of the state budget. About
60,000 hectares are used in Peru for the production of coca,
and 90% of this production is exported. The country has
resources to produce 165 tonnes of cocaine a month,
equivalent to 25% of the world's consumption. In the first
months of 2005, the Peruvian Coca farmers stepped up their
protests, organized protest marches from the Lima
Rainforest, and strike indefinitely, demanding that the
reduction in the cultivation area occur gradually and in
agreement with the farmers. The government claimed that the
drug barons were behind the protests, which in turn was
rejected by the peasants.
In August, a political crisis was triggered when
President Toledo appointed one of his close friends,
Fernando Olivera, as Foreign Minister. Prime Minister Carlos
Ferrero resigned after the appointment, as did Minister of
Housing Carlos Bruce. Toledo requested that the remaining
members of the government make their posts available so that
the president himself could assess who should continue and
who should not. The political uprising led by Ferrero was
another severe blow to Toledo, whose popularity had dropped
drastically since taking over the presidential post.
In November, Fujimori was arrested when he surprisingly
arrived in Chile. He apparently had plans to return to Peru,
and Lima asked him to be extradited. Twenty months later,
the request was rejected by a Chilean judge, but in any
case, Fujimori remained under house arrest in Chile.
In April 2006, presidential elections were held in Peru.
Toledo was prevented from participating in the elections due
to the trial of former President Fujimori. None of the
candidates got over 50% in the first round of elections and
a second round was therefore completed in June. It was won
by Alan Garcia, who was also the country's president in
1985-90. He got 53.1% of the vote against Ollanta Humala who
got 46.9%. Garcia was posted to the post in July 2006.
In January 2007, Garcia suffered his most serious defeat
as Congress voted by 49 to 26 downplaying his death sentence
over members of the Luminous Path.
In April 2007, Parliament granted special powers to
Garcia. He was given the right to rule per. decree in
narcotics cases and organized crime cases. In July, strikes
among teachers and peasants stalled for 15 days.
Demonstrations during the strikes cost 18 killed and
hundreds wounded. In the end, teachers and peasants
succeeded in reaching an agreement with the government. The
Minister for Foreign Trade subsequently announced that the
strikes had cost DKK 5 million. US $, only within his
territory.
In 2008, a Peruvian TV station played a tape recording a
conversation between Alberto Quimper who was the director of
Petroperú and a lobbyist and prominent member of the ruling
Apra party, Rómulo León Alegría. The two discussed how they
could help Norwegian oil exploration company Discover
Petroleum for concessions. The corruption case led to
extensive demonstrations demanding the resignation of the
government. In the end, Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo
was fired and replaced with Yehude Simon. Simon had been a
member of the guerrilla group MRTA in the 80's and 90's and
had been sentenced to 20 years in prison under Fujimori. |
