The education unions got up from a meeting they were having with authorities of the National Administration of Public Education (ANEP) for different aspects of the educational reform. “It has been interrupted by a change in the position of the Union Coordinator, which now wanting or interpreting the Collective Bargaining Law, considers that we must suspend the training instances for the curricular transformation and that we must be ready for a negotiation in that area.“, assured the president of the organism, Robert Silva.
“We expressed our willingness to negotiate, but that the training for teachers has to continue. In turn, we wanted to propose, but unfortunately it was not possible because they stood up, the election for more than a year, three years of Secondary school teachers and UTU,” added Silva.
Silva commented that, after the meeting was suspended, they asked the Ministry of Labor and Social Security for “an urgent tripartite meeting” because they consider “that it is not fair, it is not appropriate, to suspend the possibility that teachers cannot choose for three years in Secondary and UTU“, he claimed
“We have shown over and over again our will for dialogue and negotiation. But it is essential to understand that this curricular and educational change has to materialize no matter how many obstacles there are (…) We say that the country cannot stop, the curricular change must exist and we are willing to negotiate here in the orbit of the ANEP or in the Ministry of Labor“, he confirmed.
Regarding the educational reform awareness courses with which the teachers were not satisfied, Silva assured that they will continue. “The courses continue with the possibility of teachers joiningSilva assured.We want to change a totally unfair system, where those who have the least are the most affected“, he assured.
The teachers’ unions received different notes –some signed by zone inspectors and others by directors and coordinators of Physical Education– in which they ask for the political support of the union in the face of the reprisals that they assure could receive those teachers who abandon the courses.
“The conferences have been in the form of a monologue, without the possibility of exchange with the speakers. At most, with a criterion not shared, the coordinator of these formations took some questions and reflections to comment on them. In the group and subgroup workshops, participation was quite chaotic, leaving many directors without participating and those who did, the extremely limited time prevented serious work.”, reads one of the letters sent by the team of directors of Physical Education.
The inspectors, in turn, complained that in mid-October they were informed that they had to tutor the directors, when “there is a lot of confusion” and when they were assigned a “protagonist” task without prior training.
