Spain: in Catalonia, a new school year against a background of controversy
Audio 02:31
In Spain, the start of the school year is by region.
AP / Alvaro Barrientos
By: Elise Gazengel
6 min
It is the turn of the million and a half Catalan students to return to class this Monday, September 14.
8,000 additional teachers and educational staff have been hired in the region this year, but that does not help allay the concerns of some parents who are even calling a strike today.
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“
The schools are ready to open this Monday in complete safety…
” This is the message that the Catalan authorities have been repeating tirelessly for weeks in order to reassure worried parents.
Toni Duarte is one of them.
His 9-year-old son was due to return to Barcelona in a small class, but due to a lack of premises, this ultimately will not be the case.
“
The authorities told us that for the moment we are starting like this and depending on how it goes, they will look for a place.
What are they waiting for
?
That there are cases in a class of 25 and that we are all confined again
?
He asks himself.
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: Coronavirus, Spain facing a worrying resurgence of the epidemic
"There is not enough security"
More than a million and a half Catalan students will return to school on Monday.
Toni will accompany her son with a lump in her stomach, but other parents have decided not to take the risk because of the security measures deemed insufficient.
Sesa Camean is spokesperson for the association "for a safe education" which brings together nearly 4,000 families.
For her, “
faced with these risks, there is not enough security.
I know there is no risk 0, but they don't give guarantees
!
And it's not only that my daughter is infected, but also that she will bring the virus home
”.
Mother of a seriously ill son, she knows that the virus could have dramatic consequences for her.
And, beyond the health risk, she also mentions single-parent families and other parents who will not be able to stop working to look after their children if they are placed in quarantine.
"There will be legal consequences"
Faced with the strike announced by the association, justice has warned: the absenteeism of these students can be punished by law.
María Borrego, prosecutor, explains: “
It gets serious when we talk about persistent, voluntary and unjustified absenteeism.
In this case, there will be legal consequences so my advice to parents is that they fulfill their obligations
”.
►
To read also
: Coronavirus, shock clip in Spain to enforce barrier gestures
For his part, the regional Minister of Education Josep Bargalló defends himself by insisting on the safety of schools: "
The school will be the only place where there will be a stable" social group of contacts ", the only place where the standards compulsory sanitary hygiene will be monitored at all times, the only place nobody will enter unless it is necessary… and therefore outside the home, the school is the safest place
. ”
According to health experts, it will take several weeks to assess the impact of contagions at school and judge the effectiveness of the isolation protocols put in place.
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