The Docentes de Canarias-Insucan (DCI) union has denounced "serious problems" in the replacements of teachers, where it states that "more than half were unsuccessfuls". Specifically, the organization states that since January 4, a total of 488 appointments have been made in different specialties, of which more than 260 were not accepted by the appointed person. In Lanzarote, specifically, the union states that there have been 27 "failed" appointments.
"It is inadmissible and detrimental to the entire educational system that more than 50 percent of appointments are not accepted," considers DCI, which describes the situation as an "authentic failure" and points out that "those most harmed by failed appointments are, firstly, the students; secondly, the rest of the teachers who have to attend to those who do not have a teacher in addition to their students; thirdly, the educational system; and fourthly, the entire Canarian society."
In this regard, the union recalls that it proposed to the administration that, for the extensions of lists, "a face-to-face act should be carried out, in order to filter the lists and prevent people from signing up who then do not join, as the facts are demonstrating," according to the general coordinator of the union, José Ángel Amador, who despite the "serious problems" that he claims are being recorded, criticizes that there are several unions that insist "on not taking a step and modifying the procedure."
Six appointments at the Arrieta school before a vacancy was filled
By islands, according to DCI, there have been 155 failed appointments in Tenerife, 33 in Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura respectively, 27 in Lanzarote, 18 in La Palma, and one in La Gomera, all of them referring to the specialties of English, French, Therapeutic Pedagogy and Hearing and Language.
"In La Garita they suffered six appointments before a person arrived for a position and it is because, of course, those lists are mostly made up of people from the Peninsula and coming for 15 days or for 13 hours is very complicated. There is no housing and the salary is not enough for so many expenses," said the union delegate in Lanzarote, Juan Serafín, regarding a case registered at the Arrieta school.
According to Juan Serafín, the only penalty that teachers receive if they do not accept the appointment is that "they are placed at the end of the list" and "if for the second time you say no, then they are frozen during the year." "But they don't care at all, because that list is only for now. These lists are only until the oppositions, because the new ones will come out with the 2019 oppositions, which will be in June, and then, of course, they care less," said the DCI delegate in Lanzarote.
Proposed solution
Thus, faced with this situation that Docentes de Canarias-Insucan describes as an "authentic failure", since it considers that it has reached it "due to an inadequate regulation of extension of the lists", the union has proposed a solution "so that neither students, nor teachers, nor the educational system are affected." This proposal, according to Raimundo Ayala, member of the coordinator, would involve "managing daily appointments more efficiently" through "a management system that is carried out in other communities with good results."
According to him, "this proposal would consist of that the positions to be filled are published on the website of the Ministry of Education, that the members of the lists have a period of 12-24 hours to request it and that it is awarded only to those who have requested it, first to those who are members of the corresponding list and, secondly, to those who, not being members, meet the qualification requirements.
With this system, according to DCI, "there would no longer be students without teachers due to failed appointments". "Failed appointments would disappear or be minimal. At least they would not be as relevant as they are today, where more than half are," said the general coordinator of the union, José Ángel Amador.
However, Docentes de Canarias-Insucan states that this proposal was presented at the meeting of the constitution of the Personnel Board of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and that it was "rejected by an organization due to its ignorance or ignorance of the educational reality and has not been included in the priority demands of the Personnel Board."