The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands informs that, should the forecasts for the evolution of storm Therese, monitored by the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water, through the General Directorate of Emergencies and Civil Protection, be met, this Monday, March 23, in-person teaching activity will resume in all educational centers of the archipelago. This measure responds to the end of the confluence of adverse meteorological factors that have affected the islands these days and which, foreseeably, will culminate tomorrow Sunday.
"The effects that this storm has caused in some areas of the islands, with floods and large rockfalls on roads that could have been used as school transport routes or by families, reinforce the preventive suspension of in-person classes decreed by the Ministry to avoid displacements," expressed the Deputy Minister of Education, José Manuel Cabrera. In this sense, Cabrera concluded, "it is always better to protect the educational community than to regret greater damages and consequences, which is why we appreciate the understanding and civility shown by all parties."
During the days in which educational activity has been maintained in telematic mode, the educational system has continued functioning with generalized normality. Connections and accesses to the enabled e-learning platforms and tools have developed without notable incidents, allowing to guarantee the monitoring of educational activity on all islands despite the simultaneity in this format across the entire archipelago.
These measures were adopted progressively given the evolution of meteorological conditions, with the implementation of non-presential activity during Thursday's day on the islands of La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, El Hierro and La Graciosa, as well as in Gran Canaria in the afternoon and night shifts, extending during Friday to the entire archipelago.
Thus, in a context marked by the alert and by the recommendation of the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the General Directorate of Emergencies and Civil Protection, to avoid the displacement of the population that were not essential, the digital resources enabled by the Ministry of Education allowed to give continuity to the educational service and minimize the impact of this situation on the educational community.
Infrastructures
Regarding educational infrastructures, the definitive balance will be carried out starting Monday, with the reopening of the centers and the complete evaluation of possible affections by the management and teaching teams, since during the days of suspension the facilities have remained closed.
So far, the incidents registered in educational centers have been related to the displacement of air conditioning units at the Professional Music Conservatory of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria due to the wind; the fall of a tree at the entrance of the Early Childhood and Primary Education Center (CEIP) Rafael Gómez Santos, in the municipality of La Vega de San Mateo, in Gran Canaria; the intervention of emergency services to secure the roofing of the school pavilion of the Secondary Education Institute (IES) Cruz Santa, in Los Realejos, Tenerife, as well as leaks caused by the rains in the CEIPs Los Llanetes, in Valsequillo, and Taibique, in El Pinar de El Hierro.