The National Administration of Public Education (ANEP) opened this Friday the 2nd kindergarten no. 125 and high school no. 4, Professor Manuel Santos Pírez, in Mercedes, Soriano. “When we inaugurate a public educational space, educational infrastructure, we honor what education has been throughout our republican history. It is a day of celebration”, said the head of the ANEP, Robert Silva, according to the Presidential Communication. The events were also attended by the mayor of Soriano, Guillermo Besozzi; the ANEP counselor Dora Graziano; the deputy director general of Primary, Olga de las Heras; the Initial Education inspector, Rita Pica; the departmental, Silvina Vignolo; the regional, Rosa Morales, deputies, councilors, teachers, officials, students and family members.
Silva explained, in dialogue with Presidential Communication, that from 344 full-time schools it went to 390 and that from seven UTU and Secondary extended hours centers it will reach 43 by 2023 and 47 by the end of the period.
“Here we are making what identifies us a reality, quality public education, for which we all have to work, every day,” he emphasized.
In addition, he highlighted the country’s trajectory in early childhood care and recalled that Uruguay inaugurated the first kindergarten in Latin America in 1892, founded by Enriqueta Compte and Riqué. She considered that what children do not obtain during this stage they will not be able to acquire in the future and, therefore, it is important that they attend classes.
He argued that the opening of the center reaffirms the Government’s commitment to public education and alluded to the need to continue advancing in the transformation processes to address new realities and create opportunities for all, particularly for students.
“The raison d’être of the educational system is our children, they are our students, and for them we must work articulately,” he said. In addition, he pointed out that public education has generated opportunities for everyone, especially the most disadvantaged, so that they can choose a better future for themselves and their families.
The kindergarten, built thanks to a public-private partnership contract, is attended by 120 children aged 3 and 4. The staff includes five teachers, a principal, two assistants, a cook, and a Physical Education teacher. This work, highly anticipated by the community in the southern area of the city, due to its demographic growth, is part of a complex that integrates a child and family care center (CAIF) and a children’s club of the Children’s Institute and the Uruguayan Adolescent (INAU).
Meanwhile, high school No. 4, Professor Manuel Santos Pírez, is a María Espínola center, with a full-time modality. It includes eleven classrooms, two workshops, a science laboratory, a computer laboratory, library, dining room, kitchen, bathrooms on the ground and upper floors, teachers’ room, affiliation, and administration. It provides three meals a day to the 299 students who attend and are attended by 48 teachers.
