Speaking to the newspaper *La Estrella de Panama*, Castrellon—who is also a former Foreign Minister—stated that just as the Canal was the great national cause of the 20th century, education must become that of the 21st, given its impact on the nation’s economic and social development.

Castrellon also warned of the risks associated with the recurring purchase of laptops for public schools, noting that Panama could fall into a spiral of technological obsolescence—all within a context where one in three children lives in poverty and faces food insecurity.

According to official statistics cited by the expert, approximately 80 percent of Panamanian students attend public schools, while deep inequalities in access to learning opportunities persist.

In this regard, she maintained that a person’s place of birth in Panama continues to determine the quality of education received, recalling that the CRECER tests—administered between 2016 and 2018—revealed marked disparities among the various educational regions.

The unequal learning opportunities facing students—particularly in hard-to-reach areas and indigenous territories—point to heightened vulnerability among the very population sectors that require the most educational support.

She also questioned the disparity in actual learning time between public and private school students, as well as issues regarding teacher absence and student truancy; consequently, she advocated for increased investment in school nutrition programs as part of public policy.

jdt/oda/ga