From this 22, a student population of more than 402,309 students of 15 and 17 years of technical and rural schools will go to face-to-face classes.
In the plan of progressive and mandatory return to face-to-face classes, the educational establishments will have a flexible schedule depending on the contingencies that each institution presents at a structural level, that is, in classrooms, laboratories and other spaces.
“It will not necessarily be eight hours of class,” said Sebastián Salazar, an advisor to the Ministry of Education, when consulted on the subject during a visit to the Ángel Felicísimo Rojas Educational Unit, located in the west of Guayaquil.
In that place, this Thursday 18, the Ministry of Education held a minga as part of the interventions carried out in educational institutions before the progressive and mandatory return to classes nationwide.
Since November 22, the plan begins with technical and rural schools throughout the country and additionally with high school in Galapagos. The face-to-face return will occur after a percentage of the student population is already under a hybrid modality, which combines face-to-face and virtual days.
This Thursday 18, several parents, teachers and officials of the Undersecretariat of Education were in charge of cleaning classrooms, patios and other spaces that require maintenance in the Felicísimo Rojas educational institution. Likewise, a group of parents, including Aracely Álvarez, removed brush and tree leaf debris.
As a preliminary balance, in Zone 8, made up of Guayaquil, Samborondón and Durán, the Ministry of Education preliminarily counts at least 30 educational institutions with infrastructure problems. This figure could vary as visits to more campuses progress, Salazar estimated.
In Ecuador, the return to face-to-face classes will begin with a group of 402,309 15 and 17-year-old students
Within the progressive return plan, in Zone 8, the advisor acknowledged that the infrastructure is “badly hit” and several strategies are being implemented for the intervention of educational establishments, such as an adequate budget for maintenance, reconstruction and a new structure.
It also seeks to appeal to joint responsibility to have the support of the educational community with the Minga for Education initiative, for cleaning and minor work in institutions.
The advisor estimated that around $ 650 million is required to have adequate infrastructure nationwide. For this reason, other actions are established such as the Sponsor a School plan, which has already achieved the intervention of 900 schools in five months, and also manages the support of municipalities such as Guayaquil and Quito. In the Main Port, for example, $ 4.5 million is invested in this matter.
Given the announced return, Salazar said that as minimum conditions each institution must guarantee security in physical infrastructure, health infrastructure, biosafety supplies, electrical systems and minimum hydrosanitary.
30% of educational establishments in Ecuador are already in blended classes after approval of the educational continuity plan
In case of infrastructure problems, the schools activate contingency protocols so that students can move to nearby institutions to receive classes or they can also use flexibility to attend the schools.
“If we have an (institution) that is in good condition, we can bring students from another at different times, that is, we make the issue more flexible in a plan that has to be worked on by directors and the district, we do not launch a general proposal because the conditions are very different in each educational institution ”, explained the official.
Last Wednesday the 17th, parents of the Sarah Flor Jiménez Educational Unit, located in the Colinas del Maestro sector, in the north of Guayaquil, requested intervention in several deteriorated areas such as lying down and floors.
In addition, they reported a leak on the third floor of one of the buildings. At the site, authorities from the Undersecretariat promised to address those concerns of the family representatives.
As of this 22, a student population of more than 402,309 15 and 17-year-old students from technical and rural schools will return to face-to-face classes after the approval of the request from the ministry of the branch by the National Emergency Operations Committee (COE) .
Then, on December 6, the process of high school and upper basic will continue. A day later the return will begin in Quito. Subsequently, from January 22 of next year will be the return of basic education and high school at the national level.
According to the ministry, the return will take place once the canton has reached 85% vaccination coverage of the second dose in the population between 12 and 17 years old and between 5 and 11 years old. (I)
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