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Economist, with a master’s degree in Economic Sciences (Belgium), and postgraduate degree in Regional and Urban Development (M.I.T – USA), Cecilia María Vélez White, the Colombian Minister of Education is perhaps the person with the most technical knowledge and experience in Colombia’s education sector.
She started out at the National Planning Department, first as Director of the Territorial Development Unit and then as Deputy Director of the Institution from 1990 to 1994. This allowed her to become a leader in the law development process regarding decentralization and transference of responsibilities to territorial entities in the social sector, particularly concerning health and education.
The results obtained in this front, and her decided commitment to education, led Bogota’s Mayors, Antanas Mockus and Enrique Peñalosa, to appoint and ratify her as the District’s Secretary of Education from 1998 to 2002. During this period she managed to organize the district’s educational system, increase coverage of basic education, promote schools in concession, establish the libraries’ network and transform the concept of quality in pro of its continued improvement, among other actions.
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Spanish version
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From August 2002 and to this date, she has been working as the Colombian Minister of Education, the only government employee in history to hold that position for seven years straight, when the ministers’ average in office was only of twelve months. Likewise, her achievements have made her one of the leaders in the education sector in Latin America, where the system, programs developed and its transformation have become a points of reference and successful experiences to follow.
2002 - 2009 Achievements
The Educational Revolution became one of the main pillars of the current government’s social policy, and specific goals were established in search of a lifetime quality education for Colombian people, where educational innovation and competitiveness have become tangible facts and the strengthening of educational institutions, as well as the permanent modernization of the sector, are reflected in an educational community that breaks through paradigms, asks questions, seeks alternatives for a pertinent and quality education that actively participates ¬– as one of the main allies – in every process transforming education in Colombia.
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Dirección: Calle 43 No. 57-14.
Centro Administrativo Nacional, CAN. Bogotá |
Teléfono:
2222800 |
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