Students in the Amazon face journeys of up to 12 hours, while speaking an Indigenous language multiplies rural illiteracy

In Atalaya province, reaching school can take up to 12 hours. In the Gran Pajonal, where Ashéninka communities live, teachers may spend four to 10 hours on trails and dirt tracks simply to continue teaching.

Distance is only one of the barriers. Many schools lack teachers who speak the Indigenous languages of the children and teenagers they serve. Teachers themselves also face long journeys to their workplaces, making it harder to maintain classes and supervise educational services.

The figures show how sharply the gap widens outside Peru’s cities. Seventeen percent of rural people who speak an Indigenous language cannot read or write, compared with 2.7% among Spanish speakers. Rural illiteracy stands at 11.5%, against 3.2% in urban areas, while 43.6% of rural adults aged 25 and over have completed no more than primary school. They average 7.8 years of education, compared with 11 years in urban areas.

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Another form of literacy is needed.

National and regional averages can conceal the scale of the problem. Ucayali’s illiteracy rate is 4.3%, below the national figure of 4.6%, but the 2017 census placed Atalaya at close to 17%. Ruth Anastacio, operations manager for Fundación Dispurse in Peru, said the picture changes when the data is examined at provincial, district and community level.

Anastacio said illiteracy can remain invisible because people who cannot read or write still work, farm, trade, raise children and lead their communities. In Atalaya, some Indigenous community leaders have requested literacy programs after residents faced deception when selling their crops. Learning to read, write and calculate can give them greater independence when negotiating and managing their earnings. Fundación Dispurse has begun its first Amazonian project in Atalaya, working with the provincial education unit in two Ashéninka-speaking communities.

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If we only look at the departmental rate, we may think the issue is under control. But when you go down to the provincial, district and community levels, the reality is different.