In our country, distributed between the mountains and the jungle, we have almost 60 native languages, also called original languages, all repositories of ancestral knowledge, traditions and ways of living of compatriots, who deserve be preserved as cultural heritage and considered a fundamental part of the multi-diverse nature of the nation that welcomes us. In this sense, Intercultural Bilingual and Rural Education seeks to propose the best use of this linguistic wealth for integrating purposes, at a time when the word "inclusion" seems to be only for decoration in official speeches. For decades these languages were marginalized but now, with the rise of policies that see diversity as a strength -except for retrograde sectors that still see it as a burden- there are serious attempts to promote their cultivation and save them from disappearing. Spill Magisterial, through volume 14 of its Peruvian Educational Thought Collection, makes a valuable contribution to understanding this topic, in an in-depth investigation carried out by experts Virginia Zavala and Lucy Trapnell. In this note we give some scope of the importance of this education in Peru.
The native mother tongues of all communities play a fundamental role in the normal cultural, social, political and economic development of the populations that comprise them. All the traditions and vestiges of the common identity within the different congregations that constitute a society, have their base in a language that identifies them.
It is important for the formation of a collective memory, which serves as a vehicle for transmitting the cultural essence of the peoples, to have a language that allows knowing the past, helps to understand the present and project the future of nations.
In Peru, a country that welcomes multiple cultures, the Organization and Functions Regulations (ROF) were approved in 2012, through which the General Directorate of Bilingual Education and Rural is responsible for regulating and guiding the bilingual and rural intercultural national policy in the different stages, programs and levels within the framework of the national education system.
In our country, for historical reasons, Spanish has become the official and main language through which most human activities are carried out. However, there is still a large number of the population, especially rural, who still communicate in their native languages. It is the obligation of the Peruvian State to preserve these languages due to their relevance and promote a type of education that helps individuals to have a positive relationship with both Spanish and native languages.
There are many powers of the General Directorate of Bilingual and Rural Education and among its main functions are:
- Plan the intercultural perspective throughout the Peruvian educational system in close coordination with the general directorates, the offices of the Ministry of Education and the instances that manage decentralized education.
- Regulate the educational use of native languages by efficiently coordinating with civil society organizations, decentralized educational management bodies and specialized researchers.
- Establish the guidelines and principles for the construction of a diverse school curriculum plan, outline the social strategies for the application of teaching and learning and the forms of intercultural and bilingual evaluation.
- Develop procedures, in order to obtain educational material that can be positively validated after being tested. It is important to take into account that the didactic material must be projected both in the original languages and in the Spanish language.
- Actively support the participation of society and users of bilingual and rural intercultural education, so that they become aware of the important role played by this type of instruction and training.
- Promote the development of projects and programs that allow the constant creation of educational plans in accordance with the reality of the communities that communicate in the native languages.
- Encourage linguistic, cultural, social and educational research in order to stay abreast of all new and modern intercultural and bilingual learning methods.
- Provide technical support to local governments so that they can implement their own education strategies and plans, taking into account the linguistic, cultural and social diversity of the different regions of the country.
- Control regional governments so that they comply with the plans prepared by the General Directorate of Intercultural and Bilingual Rural Education.
Peru is a country that, due to its ethnic diversity, has a significant number of native and original languages in different communities. All these communities are part of the human capital that must not fail to be integrated into the social, political and economic life of the country. If state policies on intercultural bilingual education are successful, this means that a large number of individuals are able to reinforce their cultural identity and learn a new language that allows them to adapt to the national reality.