Updated August 17, 2026 at 9:56 p.m. Colombia time
On August 17, the Education Ministry presented a response for more than 400,000 students whose enrolment is affected. The announced measures are intended to adapt teaching and school meals, while Pereira makes any return to classrooms conditional on a technical inspection of each site.
A national directive with five strands
Directive 009 provides for remote-learning plans and educational shelters where appropriate, psychological first aid, adaptation of the school meal programme, deployment of PTAFI tutors and a programme intended to obtain tablets.
These are announced guidelines. The post gives no timetable, number of tablets distributed or implementation assessment.
Thirty-four sites inspected in Pereira
Of 167 sites to be inspected, Pereira had assessed 34 as of August 16: sixteen habitable, fifteen restricted and three at risk of collapse. The return is to be gradual and decided site by site.
In-person classes suspended, food adapted
The city is keeping in-person classes suspended in official institutions without changing the school calendar. It announces home delivery or another authorised exceptional method for the school meal programme.
Several indicators, several scopes
UNICEF reports more than 260 schools destroyed and continuity affected for 75,297 children according to the ministry, as well as more than 2,800 educational facilities affected according to UNGRD. Buenaventura’s city government locally lists 32 affected schools.
These data do not measure the same thing as the more than 400,000 affected enrolments covered by the directive and should not be merged.