EOn January 25, the school calendar of Cartagena’s public institutions begins, and according to what the Ministry of National Education (MEN) has been saying for this year, classes should be given under the alternation model. For this reason, the MEN urged the education secretariats to accompany the institutions in the design of a return-to-class plan for students.
This plan had been working since last year with rectors, student representatives, teachers and parents. However, El Universal learned from the rectors that the District schools are not in a position to implement this new modality, since they do not have an adequate infrastructure, much less the necessary real estate or the required protocols.
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Miguel Pérez Márquez, rector of the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Educational Institution and president of the union of educational directors of Cartagena and Bolívar, pointed out that “the institutions are not in a position to start academic activities on January 25. The district administration has not made an investment to adapt them ”.
He explains that all the schools have been practically alone for more than 9 months, which has made the deterioration, which was noticeable in these facilities, worsened.
“Being without students and without teachers, and now without guards and cleaning personnel, the infrastructures have been deteriorating much more, that is why we cannot return. It is necessary that the Government and the Ministry make the investments that are required to adapt and provide the institutions with biosafety protocols, to receive the more than 90 thousand students and thus guarantee that there are no infections, “he explained. He also said that “the idea is that we return to academic activities by alternation or in person when the necessary conditions exist.”
Among the conditions that the directors are asking for are that the teaching staff, educational directors and principals, as well as students and other personnel, be vaccinated. In addition, they hope that both the national and district governments can provide the institutions with the necessary biosecurity elements, adapt the infrastructure and hire more cleaning personnel, since “now the areas must be disinfected up to five times a day.”
In relation to the people who must do the screening to verify that none exceeds 37 degrees of temperature, they indicate that it should be health people who should do it.
“Now we cannot talk about the fact that we are going to return alternately, if there are no minimum conditions to avoid infections and possible deaths. We do not want to continue putting more quotas of deaths, “he argued.
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Meanwhile, parents indicate that they do not agree with the return to the classroom. “We do not agree that they return, the infections are increasing and also in school there are not the necessary guarantees,” explained Carmen Polo, while Patricia Alarcón points out that “I was willing for my son to return to class, because so while I work he is in school, but it is also true that schools are in very bad condition ”.
The teaching directors assure that for this year, as long as the right conditions are not met, the classes will continue to be through virtuality, so they expect the support and help of the national, district and departmental governments.
“This year we will continue in virtuality, so the call is to governments to provide students and teachers with the technological tools that are required. In addition, that they declare free zones of WiFi networks, so that work through virtuality can be carried out in the best way. We need free technological infrastructure for everyone, ”Pérez concluded.
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From the Ministry of Education they pointed out that “the return to classes in 2021 aims to guarantee the educational service for the entire community of students from official educational institutions. Each establishment, under the leadership of its rector, its board of directors, academic council and parents’ council, designs and agrees the modality (remote or face-to-face classes) under which the educational service will be provided for the start of the academic calendar, whose start date is January 25 ”.
In addition, they indicated that for this plan various variables are taken into account, such as the characterization of the school community, its vulnerability to the virus and the conditions of the educational infrastructure of the schools, among others.
“Each institution is autonomous in deciding how the school calendar begins, always guaranteeing the right to education of our girls, boys and young people. From the District Secretary of Education (SED) we accompany the institutions to carry out the best pedagogical processes and strategies in the context of the pandemic ”, commented Bertha Isabel Bolaños, director of Educational Quality of the SED.
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