"Without security we do not go back to classrooms"

• Education. The Board clarifies: "The management of the educational centers will not be responsible in case of contagion"
• Coronavirus.Andalusia will test its teachers for coronavirus every three months

The Andalusian Government has announced 600 million investment, 8,000 more professionals (6,000 of them teachers), tests for 143,000 workers in educational centers every three months and supply of gels and masks, which must be used (the latter) by all students and teachers when it is not possible to maintain a safe distance and outside the usual groups of coexistence of the centers. But that plan has by no means cleared the reserves of families because the ratio of students per classroom will not drop in a generalized way.

The Junta de Andalucía has ruled out establishing shifts for students to go to class on alternate days, as the Valencian Community has proposed with the agreement of the unions, for example. The Ministry of Education considers that this means in practice reducing the number of school days , which is why it maintains presence throughout the week. In the instructions sent to the educational centers, the possibility of splitting shifts is raised, so that some groups (from Baccalaureate, for example) can move classes to the afternoon schedule. But it is the management teams, according to the faculty, who will have to make those decisions.

Therefore, in the Andalusian model, despite the extra staffing of teachers or the provision of new spaces, it will not be possible to carry out all the unfolds that would be necessary to maintain the minimum distance of 1.5 meters between students. That is why it will be necessary to wear masks or form stable groups of coexistence that reduce contacts. Within these groups, designed especially for the early stages of teaching, the use of masks can be avoided.

An AMPAS platform in Seville has launched a campaign to denounce that the measures are insufficient to guarantee a safe return to the classroom. "Without security we will not return", reads the motto chosen by this movement that suggests to families that they sit down at the school at the beginning of the year.

«We are convinced that education has to be face-to-face. Online teaching is not an option . The experience of the past year has been a disaster, with more than 90,000 Andalusian students totally disconnected. But if they force us to choose between health and education, we have no choice but to protect health, "explains Teresa Pablo, spokesperson for the Schools of Heat platform, created in 2017 to demand the air conditioning of schools and led by the movement to demand a crash plan in public education that allows the course to begin with "real" security. More teachers and lower ratio is basically their claim and they suggest not taking the children to school in the first weeks of the course.

From the Ministry of Education they warn that precisely these days will be dedicated to students "becoming familiar with the new protocols." The deputy minister, Carmen Castillo, understands "the uncertainty" but trusts that, once the families attend the planned information sessions, they will verify the effectiveness of the measures adopted. " Zero risk does not exist but much is being done to minimize it," he adds.

Behind Escuela de Calor there are about 200 Sevillian AMPAS, but their battle through social networks has already found an echo in other provinces, where new parenting platforms have emerged such as AMPAS on foot , in Malaga (with some 180 member associations), o Niñ @ s del Sur , in Córdoba. Olga Amado is one of the mothers in Malaga who does not plan to take her children to school until more effective measures to prevent contagion are guaranteed. "I also believe that face-to-face teaching is essential. But I have risk groups in my family and we cannot assume that risk." Olga, like Teresa, have been hearing these days that there is also risk on the beaches or in the bars and yet they are full. "But nobody forces us to go to bars or beaches, and we are obliged to take our children to school," they point out. On the other hand, the risk in a closed building, without sufficient ventilation, is greater than in outdoor space, they add, "as the experts point out."

In this sense, the Ministry of Education regrets the rejection generated by the alleged intention of the Board to apply the protocol against absenteeism to all those families who refuse to take their children to the classroom. "We are convinced that it will not be necessary because we see no reason for the alarm," says the deputy minister. In any case, the Board emphasizes that, in the case of the most vulnerable students, there will be specific protocols and families may justify by means of medical reports any circumstance that discourages attendance at classes. "We have tools to facilitate distance learning, as in other years for children who require it for medical reasons."

The Ministry also adds that in recent months there have been frequent meetings with trade union organizations and also with representatives of the associations of parents of students, so it rejects that measures have been adopted unilaterally and without negotiation. "The unions, the directors of the centers and the families have been listened to, and many of their contributions to the protocols have been introduced," insists the deputy minister. Last week, the Board prepared a document in which it answered the main questions raised by the management teams. This document specified that organizational and academic decisions are the responsibility of the centers, but not those that have to do with health issues. "The responsibility in case of contagion will not be attributable to the management teams", could be read expressly in that document.

Subsequently, it has been announced that the Ministry of Health will appoint a nurse from a health center for each of the schools and institutes, so that they, with health criteria, will resolve the incidents that may arise daily in the course of of the school day.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• Seville
• Valencian Community
• society
• Education
• Back to school
• Andalusia
• Malaga

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