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Tens of thousands of Colombian teachers are set to continue their demonstrations in the streets as the strike demanding higher wages and more resources for public education hit one month Sunday.
The government of Colombia announced it will invest about US$400 million in additional budget for education in the country, but teachers have not shown signs of calling off the strike that has called on the government to increase wages, improve teaching conditions and prioritize public education.
"With the additional budget approved by Congress, the education sector will receive 1.18 billion pesos more than we already had in the budget," Education Minister Yaneth Giha wrote on her Twitter account.
Giha said that with these resources there will be no difficulty "in meeting the economic commitments of the education system this year."
The minister announced that the government will support a dialogue process between government officials and union representatives to develop proposals for educational reforms that will increase resources for education in the coming years.
Giha's announcement comes as the Colombian Federation of Education Workers, or Fecode, continues a national strike that has halted classes for 8 million students across the country to demand a resolution of the negotiations with the government of President Juan Manuel Santos.
Fecode was set to hold a national leadership meeting Sunday, followed by a pots and pans protests Monday and torch-lit protests Tuesday.
The union organized a massive demonstration in the capital city Bogota last week with the support of workers' unions and educators from different cities.
Some 320,000 teachers launched the strike on May 11, with a focus on urging the Colombian government to commit to better wages and increased investment.
Union leaders say students and parents have increasingly thrown their support behind the movement for better quality education. The teachers demand funding for food programs, transportation, infrastructure, teacher salaries, laboratories, sports fields and internet access in schools.
Teachers have called on the government to turn its promise of becoming Latin America's "most educated" country from words to action.
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