Governor Announces Educational Security Initiative in Caucasia

Caucasia, Colombia, April 11, 2025. Governor Andrés Julián Rendón visited the Liceo Caucasia on Friday, announcing new funding to complete the Las Malvinas megacolegio and implement a security initiative aimed at protecting local students. The project comes amid community concerns about safety in the area.

The Las Malvinas megacolegio, which had been stalled due to structural issues, will receive support from the municipality, which plans to borrow over 20 billion pesos. The governor confirmed that the provincial government will contribute 20 percent of the project’s costs. “The municipal credit will be accessed through the IDEA Turbine of Credit, providing over 2 billion pesos in interest savings,” he stated.

In conjunction with the funding announcement, the governor launched the Entorno Educativo Seguro initiative, designed to improve security in educational environments. This program has already installed two surveillance cameras at Liceo Caucasia, connected to the Departmental Security Node, as well as a community alarm system. Additionally, five panic buttons have been distributed to local shopkeepers and residents, and a neighborhood security team of 35 volunteers has been formed.

<p“Caucasia needed this intervention because we recognized the risks our children and youth faced,” said Rendón. “Drug sales and other dangers were occurring almost in broad daylight. These secure environments offer a protecting front for our students with community involvement, technology, public space recovery, and illumination.”

The Entorno Educativo Seguro program currently benefits over 3,600 students across various schedules at the Liceo Caucasia and is one of 47 institutions prioritized this year. During his visit, the governor also reviewed the extension of school hours aimed at enhancing educational quality and providing greater learning opportunities for sixth- to ninth-grade students. In Caucasia, six schools will receive a combined investment of 600 million pesos, impacting 720 students and 24 teachers.

At the departmental level, the extended school day program is already in effect at 111 schools, with plans to expand to 554 institutions, ultimately benefiting over 66,000 students and 2,200 teachers across 116 municipalities by year-end.