2024-09-12 11:28:39
In an initiative that promises to generate a broad debate in the country, liberal senator Alejandro Chacón has presented a bill called “Study without getting up early,” which seeks to prohibit preschool, primary and secondary educational institutions from starting their days before 7 in the morning.
The main objective of this proposal is to mitigate the negative effects that early school schedules have on students and caregivers.
The bill, backed by the Liberal Party, argues that waking up too early to attend classes affects the physical and mental well-being of students, with consequences that include sleep deprivation, lack of concentrationbehavioral difficulties and poor academic performance. According to studies cited in the proposal, starting the school day earlier than recommended causes exhaustion for both students and the adults in charge of their care.
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“Currently, in many regions of Colombia, classes in schools start between 6:00 and 6:30 am, which forces many students to get up as early as 5:00 am to arrive on time, depending on the distance they have to travel. This situation has been widely criticized by health experts, since the lack of adequate rest can affect the academic performance and the physical and mental health of students,” said the Ministry of National Education.
The project also addresses the need to adjust class lengths to accommodate the proposed new schedule. Instead of 60-minute sessions, the school day would be reorganized into 45-minute blocks, allowing students to have adequate rest without significantly altering the academic structure.
This proposal has generated mixed reactions. On the one hand, some have supported the idea, highlighting the importance of sleep and rest in the development of children and adolescents. On the other hand, some have expressed concern about the impact that this change could have on the organization of school days and on the working hours of parents.
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