Summary.
The bill proposes to establish the National Mandatory Educational Tutoring Program (PRONATUED) as a permanent program in all public schools in the Republic of Panama that provide primary and secondary education. Its purpose is to provide academic support to students with poor school performance, improve learning, reduce grade repetition, and encourage students to remain in school. Tutoring would be mandatory for students whom the teaching staff identify as academically at risk or whose grades fall below the average set by the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación, MEDUCA). This identification determines which students would be required to participate in the program.
MEDUCA would be the authority responsible for PRONATUED and would establish its guidelines, resources, and monitoring arrangements. Each school would establish a Tutoring Committee comprising the school principal, the teachers responsible for the subjects, and guidance counselors and educational psychologists where available. Schools would thus organize the program under the guidelines and oversight of the responsible authority. Tutoring would take place outside regular class hours, including afternoons or weekends, according to each school's availability and organizational arrangements.
Sessions could be held in person or online and would last at least 2 hours per week for each student receiving tutoring. Participating teachers would receive financial compensation or equivalent incentives. MEDUCA and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas, MEF) would define that compensation or those incentives in subsequent regulations. The bill therefore connects the delivery of tutoring to each school's scheduling arrangements and to terms for teacher participation that would be developed in those regulations.
To evaluate the program, principals would submit reports every two months to MEDUCA on the academic results of students receiving tutoring. MEDUCA would implement a statistical and educational monitoring system to measure the program's impact and propose adjustments when necessary. It would also prepare the regulations for the proposed law within no more than 90 days after its promulgation. The bill provides that the law would take effect at the beginning of the school year following its promulgation.
The public bodies connected with the proposal are the Ministry of Education, referred to in the text as MEDUCA, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional), to which the bill is submitted for consideration. The proposal could concern or affect public primary and secondary schools; their principals, teachers, guidance counselors, and educational psychologists; students required to attend tutoring; and their families.
What it proposes.
- Creation and scope of a permanent mandatory educational tutoring program.
- Identification of students and organization of tutoring in public schools.
- Teacher compensation, academic reports, and program monitoring.
- Regulations and commencement.
Who it would affect.
- Public schools providing primary and secondary education.
- Students identified as academically at risk or with grades below the established average.
- Principals, participating teachers, and other members of Tutoring Committees.
- MEDUCA and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Key points.
- PRONATUED would be established as a permanent program for public primary and secondary schools.Art. 1
- Academic support would target students with poor performance and be mandatory for those identified as academically at risk or with grades below the established average.Arts. 2-3
- MEDUCA would direct the program, and each school would establish a Tutoring Committee comprising school leaders and teachers, as well as guidance counselors and educational psychologists where available.Arts. 4-5
- Tutoring would take place outside regular class hours, in person or online, for at least 2 hours per week per student receiving tutoring.Arts. 6-7
- Participating teachers would receive financial compensation or equivalent incentives defined in subsequent regulations by MEDUCA and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.Art. 8
- Principals would submit reports every two months, and MEDUCA would establish a statistical and educational monitoring system.Arts. 9-10
- MEDUCA would prepare the regulations within no more than 90 days after promulgation, and the law would take effect at the beginning of the following school year.Arts. 11-12