The Codicen, the highest executive body of the National Public Education Administration, is divided. The license of the political adviser Juan Gabito, annoyed by the management of the school recess due to the july vacation, caused several decisions to be tied (two teacher representatives versus two politicians). And that bid was revealed last Wednesday, when the double vote of the president, Robert Silva, defined that face-to-face classes be resumed next Monday.
It happens that, after two weeks of vacation in July, schoolchildren have to return to classrooms this Monday. But a day later, Tuesday the 18th, is a non-working holiday as the anniversary of the swearing in of the Constitution is celebrated.
The teaching councilors Julián Mazzoni and Daysi Iglesias argued in the session that it made no sense to open the schools this Monday when significant absenteeism is expected. They maintained that, after marches and counter-marches, one more day would not make a difference and that many families had already agreed on vacations.
President Silva and his colleague Dora Grazziano, on the other hand, stated that the calendar should be respected and that every day gained from classes was relevant. In fact, the day before the decision, the Minister of Education, Pablo Da Silveira, I had reported that face-to-face classes would return on Monday. He said it after a meeting in Torre Ejecutiva with the President of the Republic and Silva himself.
Primary inspectors were open to either option. Because although they had preferred a single week of vacation, with the definition that it was two weeks as it ended up being, it did not matter to them “a day more or less”.
Silva, with his double vote, tipped the balance and school classes return on Monday.
