Transformation of Panama’s Education System for Sustainable Employment

July 2026 American Committee

From the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY), we recognize that access to quality education is a fundamental right and the primary driver for reducing inequality, as established by UNESCO’s Education 2030 Agenda.
We consider that Panama’s current education system requires a comprehensive reform that moves away from treating students as mere components of the market and instead recognizes them as rights-holders with critical capacities. We stress that digitalization and technological change must not be privileges for a few, but rather tools for the emancipation of the entire new working class.
IUSY reaffirms its core principles of solidarity, freedom, and social justice alongside progressive youth. We believe that youth employment is the foundation of a strong democracy.
We express our concern about the growing unemployment and informal work affecting young people in Panama, which perpetuate cycles of poverty and social exclusion. We also denounce the disparity in access to quality education between urban, rural, and local regions, which constitutes a structural barrier to the development of thousands of young people.
We urge the National Government to implement a rights-based National Youth Employment Plan that ensures first jobs are decent, with social security and fair wages, rejecting any form of exploitation or insecurity disguised as “learning.” We propose a comprehensive curricular reform that combines technological skills (STEM) with critical thinking, the humanities, and trade union education, so that young people can learn about and defend their labor rights from the classroom.
We recommend building alliances between the public and private sectors to promote research and development (R&D) in the areas of environmental sustainability and the green economy, preparing young people for the ecological transition. We also call on the Chamber of Commerce and the private sector to assume genuine social responsibility by eliminating the requirement of “prior experience” for entry-level positions and facilitating continuous training programs during working hours.
Finally, we urge IUSY member organizations to monitor compliance with these demands and to provide active solidarity to Panama’s student and youth movements in their struggle for a transformative public education.