San Pedro, Paraguay – A heartbreaking story has emerged from the San Pedro region of Paraguay, where students are resorting to building bonfires to study outdoors in freezing temperatures, determined to continue their education. This has ignited calls for improved educational environments. Following media reports, San Pedro Governor Freddy D’Ecclesiis made an urgent promise to complete one classroom at the affected school before July 20.

Passion for Learning Continues by the Bonfire 

Students at Elementary School No. 7108 and República del Paraguay National School, located in Yaguareté Forest, San Pedro Department, are currently enduring harsh conditions and inadequate facilities for their studies. Despite severe weather with temperatures dropping as low as 5°C, more than 85 students are forced to gather daily in the schoolyard around bonfires made of wood, cardboard, and charcoal to attend classes. This shocking reality starkly reveals the severe vulnerability of the educational infrastructure.

According to parents, the old wooden building that housed five existing classrooms at the school was closed more than 20 years ago due to the risk of collapse, but no alternative facilities have been provided since. Consequently, most students are exposed to the cold and continue their classes without proper learning spaces.

Teacher Nora Martínez expressed her profound sorrow, stating, "It breaks my heart to see students studying in such an environment. I graduated from this school many years ago, and returning as a teacher, I see that the suffering continues."

Governor's Promise and Delayed Construction 

Regarding the situation, Governor Freddy D’Ecclesiis promised that the classroom construction, funded by the San Pedro provincial government, is ongoing and that one classroom will be fully completed by July 20. He emphasized, "We will complete the construction entirely before July 20. Work was slightly delayed due to rain, but it never stopped. We will now deploy maximum resources to complete it by the deadline."

Currently, two classrooms are under construction: one funded by the local municipality and the other by the provincial government. However, parents criticize the ongoing delays due to persistent rain, stating that most students still have to continue outdoor classes in the cold without adequate facilities.

Urgent Call for the Guarantee of the 'Right to Dignified Education' 

Principal Sixto Lezcano emphasized the need for at least five new classrooms, asserting that students deserve at least minimal appropriate educational conditions. He strongly stated, "In the 21st century, and in the heart of our nation, the right to dignified education should no longer be delayed."

Students currently possess desks and chairs donated by China, but paradoxically, they lack classrooms to study in. Furthermore, the sight of students drinking mate tea to combat the cold while studying presents a profound challenge to local educational authorities.

The local education community earnestly hopes that after the winter vacation, which begins on July 14, students will be able to study in proper conditions in at least one classroom. This incident starkly illustrates the severe extent of educational infrastructure problems in rural Paraguay, underscoring the urgent need for active governmental intervention and the development of long-term solutions.

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