Dozens of teachers, students and parents of students gathered yesterday morning at the doors of the César Manrique Secondary Education Institute to demand zero tolerance of violence in classrooms and in the environment of educational centers. The protest is specifically due to an incident that occurred a few days ago at the school, when a mother chased and threatened the director of the institute because her son was expelled for three days for committing a fault.
LA VOZ contacted the vice-principal of the center, Manuel Amate, to explain to our readers how the concentration took place. All the teachers of the institute have shown solidarity with the cause, demanding that this type of incident not be tolerated from now on. In fact, almost all of them went out into the street, with only a few remaining on the premises to watch over the facilities. Also, most of the students and many parents of students came to César Manrique to take part in the protest.
Other centers in Arrecife
As Amate pointed out, teachers from other centers in Arrecife were also present at the concentration, in addition to the area coordinator and three educational unions.
The protest lasted barely fifteen minutes, during which a statement made by the teachers of the center was read and then "silence was observed for approximately 10 minutes".
New incident
On the other hand, Amate pointed out that the boy who was expelled from the institute for a minor offense committed another offense last week, considered on this occasion to be very serious and which could lead to his definitive expulsion.
At this moment, the investigating judge of the institute is working on the file of the offense committed, which will be resolved next week. Meanwhile, the boy continues to attend classes.
Although the vice-principal of César Manrique did not reveal the cause of the new file, he did point out that the incident was due to the events related to the complaint filed by the director of the institute. In any case, Amate expressed the hope that the lawsuit against the boy's mother will prosper to prevent similar cases from happening in the future.
Concentration at IES Alfonso Spínola
The faculty of the IES Doctor Alfonso Spínola joined yesterday "the action promoted by the IES César Manrique under the slogan Zero tolerance for violence in schools". In support of the Arrecife center, the teachers of the institute of the Villa de Teguise gathered yesterday at the doors of the center for ten minutes.