The Ministry of Education estimates that more than one million students of the 4.3 million nationwide could return to the classroom.
After 07:00 this Monday, January 24, 19 students from room #05 from the Mejía school, located in the north center of Quito, were sitting down receiving their first subject of the day.
Some wore the educational institution uniform. The windows were open to let in air. Earlier, outside, a line of students had formed. Then each had a little alcohol in hand and a digital thermometer measured the temperature.
Thus passed the first hours of the return to face-to-face classes voluntarily after the decision made by the national Emergency Operations Committee (COE).
The Ministry of Education estimates that on a national scale, more than one million students out of the 4.3 million students that there are, from fiscal, municipal, private and fiscomisional educational units, could return to face-to-face.
Otherwise, the institutions must guarantee the long distance education, expressed Andrés Chiriboga, Deputy Minister of Educational Management of that State portfolio.
He added that there are more than 11,000 authorized educational continuity plans of the 16,000 institutions that exist in Ecuador.
Chiriboga maintained that they have determined a traffic lights together with the national COE, which implies a calculation of the return, which is not done based on the percentage of capacity but of social distancing, 2.25 meters per student and this implies -he added- that each institution has a different reality.
If a case of coronavirus is detected, he said, a bubble is activated, that is, all students who have been in contact with that teacher or with that student, who has been a victim of this contagion, are isolated, rapid tests are carried out and that group is isolated for a week. Then they can return.
Chiriboga stressed that there may be penalties to the authorities, such as pecuniary, time or dismissals, that force a return to the classrooms and although he did not specify figures, he affirmed that these types of events have occurred.
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At the Mejia school, of 5,000 students, about 1,200 students they had a letter of authorization from their parents, between the morning and the afternoon, to return to the classroom.
Although parents see face-to-face attendance as important, tutors such as Fanny Chicaiza asked the Government to have random visits and controls to educational units. She maintained that as parents they cannot know what is happening inside or if there is distance.
Gabriela Loachamín, 34 years old, with a daughter in tenth year of high school, was pending of her admission to school. I watched from the outside how the return to the institution was taking place.
He said that one week Monday, Wednesday and Friday he attends face-to-face classes, the following week on Tuesday and Thursday, from 08:00 to 11:00.
“They are attending (virtual) classes, but in a small part of the screen they are with their games, with their movies, while in the school they only dedicated themselves to classes and they had from seven (in the morning) to twelve (of the day)”, Loachamin said.
The boys although with some fear they are happy to return physically.
Mike, a sophomore in high school, had a divided opinion. It seemed good to him to return, but he maintained that the pandemic continues and perhaps at school there couldn’t be much distance. He showed concern about what may happen at recess; however, he added, sometimes in virtual they don’t learn as much.
For Kevin, going in person allows Learn more of what they follow digitally, while for Lady, in physical classes, she learns better and understands things.
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The teachers unions They also give their opinion on the return to face-to-face.
The Teachers Network considered that face-to-face education is irreplaceable, but mentioned that they request that the epidemiological curve of contagions decrease and that educational institutions comply with biosafety protocols, in addition to inspecting the approved educational continuity plans.
For Isabel Vargas, president of the National Union of Educators (UNE), the facilities do not have adequate conditions with classrooms of 40 or 50 students.
Vargas stated that it is impossible to comply with the 2.5 meters distance and the sanitation areas are not in accordance with the number of students and are not in optimal conditions either.
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