Earthquake impact on education evaluated on August 21, 2026

On August 21, 2026, authorities reported on the situation of approximately 400,000 children and young people whose school routine was interrupted following the 7.4 magnitude earthquake. The government is preparing a shock plan to guarantee educational continuity while school infrastructure undergoes damage assessments.

Status of school facilities and damage assessment

The earthquake caused widespread infrastructure damage, with about 3,500 educational institutions affected, of which 811 reportedly collapsed. The Ministry of Education asked local secretariats to classify institutions at critical, moderate, or low alert levels. To recover the schools, the ministry is reviewing available resources in the Educational Infrastructure Fund and other allocations, counting on about 500 billion available for this purpose, although it is still too early to define the total investment needed.

Strategies for class continuity

To prevent students from falling behind academically, the Ministry of Education has enabled two main strategies. The first is home schooling, with pedagogical activities at home and virtual meetings. The second is the mobile school, which temporarily transfers classes to safe spaces such as community halls and facilities of other entities. Minister Viviane Morales explained that the response seeks to avoid the full lockdown model of the pandemic, allowing parents and caregivers to continue their work shifts through weekly meetings with teachers and tutors.

Support in rural and dispersed areas

In rural and dispersed areas, where access difficulties limit virtual alternatives, the government is considering resorting to satellite connection, tablets, and educational content available on the Colombia Aprende portal. In addition, the Executive plans to redirect some support personnel to the affected territories, mobilizing 6,000 tutors from the Ministry of Education to the emergency zones.

Challenges in higher education and feeding

About 50 higher education institutions were affected by the earthquake, including the Technological University of Chocó and campuses of the National University in Palmira and Manizales, for which 4 billion would be allocated from the Unal Emergency Fund. Regarding school feeding, secretariats must activate mechanisms such as delivering PAE food baskets to homes or food vouchers, while the government seeks to identify students at risk of dropping out.

With information from El Colombiano.