BOLÍVAR AND EDUCATION, WHAT WAS YOUR CONCEPTION? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The conception of Simon Bolivar on education is always reflected in his writings, letters, messages and generally in all activities performed during the liberation of several countries in the Americas.

Bolívar was always concerned about the issue of education. According to his social thinking, education should be such that it was always at the service of the people. In this way he devised the compulsory teaching of trades such as masonry, carpentry and blacksmithing, always seeking the training of indigenous people.

The University of Trujillo (UNT) was founded by Simón Bolívar in 1824

Bolívar believed that the consolidation of free nations could only be achieved after overcoming, through education, the mentality of subordinate colonies. Regarding this, Bolívar affirmed: "the nations march towards the end of their greatness, with the same pace in which education walks."

Some of the works that Bolívar carried out in the different countries that he liberated was the foundation of various educational establishments with endowment of teachers and financing. Among these, the University of Trujillo stands out, founded in Peru on May 10, 1824.

The importance of education for Bolívar

As an intellectual and enlightened, Bolívar saw education as a necessary step for the formation of citizens in the construction of democracies.

With the idea that education should necessarily be aimed at all citizens and not only concentrated on the ruling elites, Bolívar strongly promoted basic education.

In addition to democracy, Bolívar was convinced that other important characteristics of a nation could not function well without adequate education. He argued that neither justice, nor the exercise of any public power, nor the very exercise of citizenship could do without education and knowledge.

Bolívar also saw education as a liberating source from the ravages of ignorance, which he himself denounced in his famous phrase: "an ignorant people is an instrument of their own destruction."

Influences on Bolívar's conception of education

Bolívar's conceptions of education were the product of his concern for the destinies of the peoples of America and for the varied influences of his formal education, including the writings of Rousseau and the Rights of Man.

The teachings of his teachers Simón Rodríguez and Andrés Bello also influenced the formation of Bolívar's educational conception.

Other influences of Bolívar in this regard were the works of Alejandro von Humboldt, Montesquieu and Voltaire among many others.

The chamber of education

During the Angostura congress of 1919, Bolívar proposed that a "moral power" be created divided into two chambers.

The second of these chambers would be dedicated to education. The chamber of education, according to Bolívar, would be in charge of "the physical and moral education of children, from birth to the age of twelve."

Bolívar's proposal on the powers of the chamber of education consisted of 13 articles. Said articles established in very general terms that the powers of said chamber would be destined to promote, organize and regulate the official educational system.

References

1. BOLÍVAR AND THE LIBERATION OF AMERICA Author (s): Concepción Caro García Source: Investigación Económica, Vol. 42, No. 166 (October-December 1983), pp. 343-361.
2. Bushnell D. (2003). EL liberator: writtings of Simón Bolivar. Oxford University Press
3. Garcia-Prada C. Simón Bolívar, Liberator. Hispania. 1931; 14 (2): 89-98.
4. Gelfenstein S. (2009). The thought and work of the liberator in education. Lecture at the Bolivar-Martí-Sandino chair.
5. Mora EA Simón Bolivar: Powers of the Chamber of Education (1819). Method to be followed in the education of my nephew Fernando Bolivar (1822). Transatlantic education. Simón Bolivar Andean University, Quito Ecuador. 2008; 5: 13-18.
6. Vila M. (1992). Simón Bolivar, Doctrine of the liberator. Ayacucho Library. 4 ed.