Protection of culture and the right to intercultural bilingual education in Pichari (VRAEM) in Peru

Abstract

The article analyses Intercultural Bilingual Education (IBE) in Peru, in particular the case of the Instituto de Educación Superior Pedagógico "Quillabamba", Pichari branch of the Apurímac, Ene and Mantaro River Valley (VRAEM), as an IBE centre in the region, with the purpose of proposing some reflections and proposals for improvement. The study shows that Peru has public policies and a legal framework for IBE, in connection with international human rights treaties that protect the rights of indigenous peoples, especially the right to education; however, in practice, its implementation and execution in the Pichari district of the VRAEM is still a pending challenge to be solved. Finally, the study emphasises the importance of IBE as a tool to guarantee equality, respect for diversity and the integral development of individuals and
communities. In this sense, the role of IBE in the promotion of social justice, human rights and inclusion for minority and vulnerable groups such as indigenous peoples, whose knowledge and ancestral knowledge are at risk of
being lost and even extinguished if there is no adequate protection and state policy management, is transcendental. This is why it is so important to preserve their language and, therefore, their cultural identity.