* Venezuela School for Poor Controversial *
Staff and agencies 02 August, 2005
By IAN JAMES, Thu Jul 28, 3:31 PM ET
CARACAS, Venezuela - Large block letters taped above the university entrance spell out "Long Live Socialism." Fliers in the halls promote a workshop on Marxism, and posters exalt the achievements of President Hugo Chavez.
Critics say Bolivarian University, named for independence hero Simon Bolivar, puts more emphasis on ideology than academics.
"We train our students ideologically and politically," said Yamileth Uzcategui Gonzalez, coordinator of political and government studies. "To tell the truth, every university trains ideologically."
"We hope to be an example for all of Latin America," she said.
Teodoro Petkoff, a Chavez critic and editor of the newspaper Tal Cual, said the university has been a failure, plagued by frequent dismissals of its top leaders and periods when classes weren‘t held at all.
Many students are poor or lower middle class. Most say they never could have afforded a university education without the program.
Students are finishing their semester this week, taking final exams, turning in papers and crowding around sheets listing their grades.
Classes at the Bolivarian University are informal, with professors in their 20s often leading free-flowing discussions around a circle of desks.
The university has expanded to include campuses nationwide and majors such as public health, architecture, medicine, computer science and environmental management, as well as activities from dance to soccer.
One CD for an ethics class includes sections on "Solidarity" and "Ethical Values of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela."
Poor students receive a monthly stipend of $75 to help cover expenses. Those with cars park in a lot where vendors sell Che Guevara T-shirts next to a mural proclaiming "Against Imperialist Aggression."
Two blocks away is the prestigious Central University of Venezuela, a bastion of opposition to Chavez.
There, 17-year-old student Diego Molinari paused when asked about Bolivarian University and confessed he had never been there.
He said he sees nothing wrong with providing free education as long as standards are maintained. The problem, he said, is that Chavez supporters "use it more as a promotion of their government."
Most students at Bolivarian University say they support Chavez, and many seem to share his view that U.S. "imperialism" is a menace.
In one recent class on "Latin American and Venezuelan Political Thought," three students gave a presentation on Venezuela‘s national identity.
Sergio Tera, 20, said the national psyche is "totally in danger" due to influences such as McDonald‘s, Sony PlayStation and Nike shoes — "American thought," he said.
His professor, Mari Olga Paz, later touched on Chavez‘s efforts to set up cooperatives to promote community development. She said the class helps her students become critical thinkers.
"The idea here isn‘t to indoctrinate in any way," she said.
http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-0053798.html