China's entry into the WTO has caused some Latin American countries to lose market share to Chinese goods, but, when it comes to competing in global markets, the achievements of China in education represent a far deeper challenge for the region.
"As you compare education in Latin America with China, the issue of competition is clear," Eduardo Velez, education sector manager for Latin America at the World Bank, told Emerging Markets.
By next year, China is expected to reach its goal of nine years' education for everyone, including children in rural areas. In Latin America, wealthier countries such as Argentina, Chile and Uruguay have achieved reasonable indicators on education. But the largest countries, Brazil and Mexico, cannot yet boast nine years' education for all.
Producing a trained work force to compete in an international jobs market requires a lot more than upping education levels to nine years - it includes changing social values, starting with the professionalism and discipline of teachers and their powerful unions. Social investment must be improved so that education can contribute to poverty reduction, says Velez.
Latin America must be encouraged to place a higher value on performance in the class room. The World Bank is supporting programmes in Latin America that get parents involved in management of schools, hiring and firing teachers and managing special funds to maintain schools and fund training. "We have empirical evidence that shows that the more parents are involved, the more likely kids are to complete the cycle," the specialist adds.
However, a new culture is required to deal with teachers' unions, which are holding back education in Latin America because strikes cut into the number of teaching days, says Velez. In Peru, students lose the equivalent of one school year every five years because of strikes. In rural areas and small cities in Mexico, teacher absenteeism may cause students to lose as much as half of their school days in a year.
The World Bank is supporting programmes that give salary incentives for teachers who show up to teach and give parents a role in managing incentives to combat absenteeism.