Central classrooms, with sunken floors and risk fissures due to laziness of the MEC

Middle Nation Investigation Unit

The journalistic team of La Nación Investiga made another tour of schools in the districts of the Central department, verifying that they are also in risky conditions for the safety of students and the teaching staff of educational institutions.

The classrooms of the Santa Librada School, in the Posta Ybycuá neighborhood of Capiatá, are a danger for children, since, for example, the room where the fourth grade students teach is sinking and, what is more, there are already a well for the loss of a tile.

“The floor of the classroom where they give classes sinks because of the termite attack, and behind it they form a kind of mountain with all the sand they remove,” said director Blas Núñez.

There is already a hole in the floor of the classroom where the fourth grade boys and girls at the Santa Librada School teach. PHOTO: EMILIO BAZÁN

He added that it is not the only grade that is sinking, and mentioned that this whole situation was reported to the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC) through the corresponding channels, but so far nothing has been done to avoid any tragedy.

“We warned that there is danger of collapse, but we have no answer. There are four grades that are affected in this way, they are classrooms that represent a danger of collapse”, emphasized the director.

But the structural problems at the Santa Librada School not only affect the floor, they also have leaks in the roof, and, according to director Núñez, this problem has been reported to the Ministry of Education for at least three years.

The rear wall of the Defensores del Chaco School run by J. Augusto Saldívar is in constant danger of collapsing. PHOTO: EMILIO BAZÁN

The San Blas and Defensores del Chaco schools in the city of J. Augusto Saldívar have been requesting assistance from the Ministry of Education and Science for some time; however, the current former ministers Eduardo Petta San Martín and Juan Manuel Brunetti did not give any answer.

The first institution mentioned is located in the San Miguel neighborhood. There, the classrooms are at risk of collapse and the classrooms have been closed, since for several years the MEC has not acknowledged receipt of repair and maintenance orders.

Another point that must be addressed is the condition of the toilets, since in addition to having water filtration, this space is used as a deposit, where all kinds of disused materials are stored, exposing the little ones to any accident.

Teachers from the Santa Librada School have already requested the repair of the roof of their classrooms due to rain leaks.

Even due to lack of help, the San Blas School was attacked on several occasions by criminals who took objects of significant value to the educational institution. The “visits” of the thieves occur easily because part of the wall is not finished, and for two years the micro-planning projects to raise it again have not been addressed by the ministry.

It can also be seen that several spaces suffer from dampness in the walls, a symptom of deterioration, and that, in addition to putting the electrical connections at risk, it could also affect allergic students. And speaking of electrical connections, these too are pretty dilapidated and totally exposed.

Finally, it is important to point out that a sector of the San Blas patio looks like a landfill, and the institution does not even have items for cleaners.

Students from the San Blas School walk under an electrical net that hangs over their heads.

In the Defensores del Chaco School the panorama is just as bleak, there too the pavilions are found with several fissures and with a lot of humidity, which is one of the main causes of the collapse of the classrooms.

The director of the institution, Virgilia Cristaldo, also indicated that the “roof has a problem of leaks, but we are waiting for people from the Departmental Directorate to come to work on their report.”

He explained that in total the teaching center has 13 classrooms, but nine of them have problems with leaks, that is, 70% of the classrooms suffer from this situation.

Even to avoid any accident, the parents made a contribution to mount a pillar inside the first grade classroom, hoping that the structure would not fall on top of the little ones.

Students from the Defensores del Chaco School were in charge of removing the rubble that was in the schoolyard.

Another of the structural drawbacks of the Defensores del Chaco School has to do with the perimeter divisions, since part of the wall is fallen and the rest is about to fall. The institution does not have resources for maintenance.

Lastly, we can point out that the patio where children and adolescents recreate has aspects of a dump, full of rubble from structures that collapsed in recent months. It is the students themselves who must carry out the cleaning tasks.

Regrettable state of one of the institutions of J. Augusto Saldívar, since its walls are full of humidity.

The Nation Media Research Unit has requested the Ministry of Education and Sciences, through its Directorate of Communication, the list of refurbished public schools and/or new buildings delivered within the framework of the tender for “constructions, extensions, repairs and completions of 272 educational establishments within the framework of the projects financed by the FEEI (Funds for the Excellence of Education and Research)”.

The San Blas School bathroom is also used as a storage room.

The contracts between the MEC and the construction companies were signed in December 2020 and to date not all the works have been delivered, even the portfolio re-tendered this same call because the works in 79 institutions were abandoned by Structure Engineering SA (EISA ), company owned by Alberto “Octopus” Palumbo. Other works that remained unfinished are from the super-supplier Engineering.