Stoppage in educational centers throughout Andalusia. Teachers and students join the strike called by the unions ANPE, Ustea and CCOO to ask the Andalusian Administration to change course in its policies. The increase in the number of teachers and the reduction in the ratio are the basic requests with which this proposal has been promoted, although these organizations also emphasize the elimination of classrooms which, according to what they point out, has been taking place for some time. a couple of years in schools, as well as in the deterioration of the public model in favor of private companies.
Thousands of teachers participated this Tuesday in the protests called by the ANPE, USTEA and CCOO unions in all the Andalusian provinces, which have estimated the follow-up of the strike at 60% until 12:00 p.m., while the Board assures that only 4% of teachers have participated in it. On the other hand, according to the calculations of the organizers, the concentrations have brought together more than 30,000 people, a figure that drastically contrasts with the 6,500 attendees that the Police assure that have gathered in different parts of the capitals.
The one in Seville may have been the one that has had the most impact, given that many political representatives have been seen alongside those affected. Carmen Yuste, responsible for the union action of USTEA, one of the organizing organizations, has insisted that providing the public system with more teachers is “very urgent and necessary”, since she has criticized the “manipulation attempts” of the Ministry of Educational Development, which “wants to make the educational community believe that what they experience every day is not true.”
For their part, Francisco Padilla, president of ANPE Andalusia, and Lola Escabias, responsible for the public teaching union action at CCOO-A, have asked that the negotiation process be opened again to be able to offer Andalusians a service “of quality”, which inevitably involves an increase in staff and the improvement of workers’ working conditions.
In defense of quality public education and the need for the Government to listen to the requests of groups in the sector, María Márquez, spokesperson for the PSOE-A, and José Ignacio García, her counterpart in Adelante Andalucía, have also appeared. He assured that the “success” of the strike is “the demonstration that Moreno had a fire in Health and now he also has it in Education.”
For his part, the spokesperson for the Andalusian Government, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, has said that the Board respects any type of claim, but they understand that these data reflect that “it was probably not justified”, especially when the Ministry of Education “has always maintained a fluid dialogue” with the unions.
Faced with the announcement of this measure by the unions, the regional government has responded that “there are no compelling reasons” for this strike. This was pointed out by the head of the branch, Patricia del Pozo, who has assured that since the arrival at the San Telmo Palace of the popular Juanma Moreno, the number of teachers has increased (7,000 more in the last 5 years, according to her data) despite to the drastic decrease in the number of students; while she recognizes that we must continue “working” to lower the ratios, just as she has stressed that teachers’ salaries have also improved. “Andalusian teachers were the lowest paid in Spain and now they are above the average salary in Spain,” he defended, insisting that the staff is now “the largest, the best paid and the most stable in the history”.
Since the strike was announced after the failed attempts to reach agreements at the negotiation table with the Administration, everyone has been taking sides for their cause. Thus, left-wing parties, such as Sumar, Adelante Andalucía and PSOE have shown their support for this mobilization of teachers and join the sector’s fight. Likewise, other affected departments as well as numerous groups have already announced their participation in this stoppage.
“We show all our support for the general teacher and student strike on May 14 because there are plenty of reasons. Since President Moreno Bonilla came to the Board, the PP in government has closed almost 2,000 public school lines (600 this year alone) while it has been increasing financing for private subsidized schools, reaching this year’s historical record. of one billion,” reads the statement issued by Adelante, from where they argue that both PP and PSOE have promoted policies “favorable to private” that have led to the “dismantling of public.”
For his part, Toni Valero, spokesperson for Sumar, has pointed out that “what the PP has done since it governed in Andalusia is to eliminate 1,943 public classrooms plus 600 that it will eliminate in the next academic year 2024/25, in total more than 2,500 classrooms. public“. ”Along with the elimination of specialized resources and ratios that make the development of attention to diversity within the classroom impracticable, which prevents personalized attention adapted to the needs of the students. In many centers there are no therapeutic pedagogy, PTIS or hearing and language professionals,” he added, since he called for mass mobilization in favor of public education.
For its part, the PSOE of Andalusia has ratified the socialist “absolute support” for the general strike of teaching staff for, among other reasons, in demand of an adequate increase in staff that allows reducing the ratio of students per classroom in public education. , according to a note from this party. It was the group’s deputy spokesperson, Josele Aguilar, who stated that he also “shares” the demand that “no more educational lines be closed” by the Andalusian Government, of which he recalled that it has already eliminated more than 2,000 in the public education “while increasing in the concerted, also extending to Baccalaureate.” In addition, the socialists join the demands for “greater and better attention to diversity” in Andalusian classrooms, reduction of teaching and bureaucratic load for teachers, stabilization of interim staff and “against the privatization of public education by the PP“.
”I can’t find the reasons for this strike. Frankly, I do not find compelling reasons,” stated the Minister of Education, Del Pozo, who has indicated that the negotiation table is open to find solutions, vindicating the work carried out in recent years, although for the teaching staff it is not It’s enough.
The owner has assured that there are 7,000 more teachers in the system than five years ago, although 90,000 students have been lost, since she has explained that the staff is now “the largest, the best paid and the most stable in history.” At this point, he recalled the upcoming call for 14,000 places for 2025 and 2026 and highlighted that from 2019 to 2026, the Board will have called for 40,000 places, “triple” of what socialist autonomous governments called for in the same period of time. .
Regarding the average number of students per class, in 44% of the classrooms (only public and not counting rural schools) in Early Childhood and Primary, the ratio is below 20 students. In the case of Secondary School, 92% of the classrooms are below the 30 students established by law. “These are reasons to continue working,” added the counselor, who has undermined the PSOE’s support for this strike and the previous rallies in which, according to the counselor, “we were asked to close the concerted meeting, a key piece” of the system. . “I can’t understand it,” she said.
