The Daily Journal.— Authorities relocated more than 86,000 students to different schools in Caracas and other Venezuelan states due to damage caused by the earthquakes that struck on June 24, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Monday during the start of the new academic year.
“We relocated them so that everyone can attend classes,” Rodríguez said during an event at a school in Caracas, where she also remembered the children and teenagers who died as a result of the two earthquakes, which killed more than 6,500 people, according to figures cited by authorities.
According to Rodríguez’s press team, the “rezoning” plan relocated 86,031 students across Caracas and the states of La Guaira, Miranda, Carabobo, Aragua and Yaracuy. The earthquakes hit La Guaira the hardest.
During the event, which state-run Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) broadcast, Rodríguez said 11 schools collapsed, and slightly more than 1,010 educational facilities sustained some form of damage.
“We have already rehabilitated many of them, while work to restore others is underway,” she said, without providing details on how many schools authorities have restored or how many still require repairs.
Rodríguez also said more than six million children and teenagers returned to classrooms Monday, including more than 75,000 new students who joined the education system.
The acting president said the government’s “strategic objective” is to ensure “maximum and full school enrollment” and prevent students from dropping out during an academic year marked by the consequences of the earthquakes and the damage they caused to parts of the country’s educational infrastructure.
