The faculty of the I.E.S. Zonzamas of Arrecife has decided to suspend its planned hourly allocation of teachers and make public its discomfort in the face of what they consider an "unsustainable situation" for the Center, which two weeks before the start of the course finds itself with three training cycles and a group eliminated from its academic program offer.
The Ministry of Education made the decision to eliminate the Training Cycle of Administration and Finance (with 24 enrolled and a waiting list), a group of Intermediate Grade Electricity, a Higher Grade Cycle of Electrotechnical Installations and a Higher Cycle of Accommodation. The reasons are based primarily on the lack of students enrolled to cover the minimum quota for classes to go ahead, although the Center asks that the registration deadline be extended, since there are many students who are still waiting for the September exams.
"We do not consider this to be an unreasonable request, not only because it has been allowed in previous courses, but because we understand that any request for training by the society of Lanzarote cannot have any response other than to facilitate and support it; especially at a time like the present in which the crisis will be especially severe on the least trained workers", the teachers declare in a statement, where they also ask the Ministry of Education about the alternatives for all the young people who have been unable to access the academic offer of the Center.
The Faculty of the I.E.S Zonzamas considers that the same minimum enrollment criteria required in some islands should not be applied in others, since in the Canary Islands there are abysmal differences in population from one island to another. "Some of the groups were eliminated since July for lack of two or three students to cover the minimum number of places", they point out in the statement.
"This population inequality must be taken into account when establishing requirements. We do not play on equal terms", they declare from the Center.
On the other hand, the Faculty of the I.E.S Zonzamas criticizes that the Ministry of Education eliminates courses due to lack of places but, however, skips the rules regarding the maximum number of students allowed per class. The regulations say that the figure of 20 students per class should not be exceeded, when on occasions there are up to 29 students in a classroom, "with what this entails in terms of detriment to the quality of teaching, especially in workshop practices", points out the teaching staff, who have also asked Education to expand the number of groups in the E.S.O courses, where there are more than 30 students per class with students with Special Educational Needs integrated in them. The response from the Ministry has been, for the moment, negative.
Finally, the teachers criticize the actions of Education as constituting "an obstacle to achieving the EFQM Seal of Excellence", since last year they achieved the ISO 9000 Quality Certificate (the only educational center that has it in Lanzarote). "If we continue to receive the same response from the Ministry, we do not rule out taking some more forceful measures", warns the Faculty of the I.E.S Zonzamas.