The July vacations started earlier at the request of the Ministry of Public Health, due to the wide circulation of viruses that can cause an exponential increase in the number of sick people and the occupation of pediatric intensive care beds.

The normal break for July is one week, but in addition to advancing the calendar, it was extended to two weeks due to health pressure.

The move has worried school inspectors in a context where classroom attendance is at the lowest level since records have been kept.

The problem is acknowledged in the draft Accountability Report that the National Public Education Administration (ANEP) sent to Parliament. The document devotes sections to the “structural feature of the Uruguayan system: non-attendance at classes.”

According to the newspaper El Observador, after passing through primary school, a student accumulates an average of absences equivalent to one school year.

This means that out of 180 school days, a sixth grader is absent for 25 days, a first grader for 32 days and a fourth grader for an average of 48 days.

According to national and global experience, absenteeism is associated with higher risks of repetition, poorer performance and poorer learning.

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