The mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, and the Councilor for Education, Silvia Santana, are reviewing and examining this week, together with directors and governing bodies of the municipality's public schools, the preparation of educational facilities for compliance with the security and hygiene measures dictated by the health authorities against Covid-19 in preparation for the start of the school year. Waiting to know if classes finally begin or not in person next week - which will be decided this Thursday in the Governing Council of the Canary Islands - Óscar Noda wanted to publicly acknowledge "the great effort of directors, teachers and all workers committed to the cause, including municipal staff, who work tirelessly so that the educational community starts the course in the safest possible way".
The representatives of the City Council, who visited the schools of Yaiza, Uga, Femés and Las Breñas this Wednesday, informed the heads of the centers that the Administration will award "shortly" the reinforcement of the cleaning and disinfection services of the buildings, as well as the continued maintenance of the same. "The competences in Education belong to the Autonomous Community, but we are aware that here we all have to add up, and Yaiza is here to listen to the concerns of the educational community and lend a hand whenever we can invest," said the mayor.
The schools foresee compliance with the ratio of number of students per classroom that should be between 23 and 25 students per class. Yaiza (279 students enrolled) and Uga (130 students) will host 13 and 7 groups of infant and primary school, respectively, with the CEIP Yaiza having to enable the library as a new classroom to comply with the regulations.
Entry to schools will be staggered to respect social distancing between students, teachers, mothers, fathers and tutors. The City Council has authorized for the entry and exit time of the CEIP Yaiza the use of the Plaza de La Alameda as a large parking area in order to avoid crowds on the facade of the building. The CEIP Yaiza confirms the operation of the dining service with groups of diners separated by screens.
For its part, as explained by the Consistory, "the CEIP Uga holds reduced meetings with mothers and fathers to explain its contingency plan and, like all centers, expects the collaboration and understanding of families, a call to which the City Council joins". "This return to classes will be very peculiar, so the collaboration of all parties is essential to try to ensure that the course takes place in the best safety conditions," says the mayor of Yaiza.
Regarding the unitary schools of Femés and Las Breñas, the City Council recalls that they are much smaller and with stable coexistence groups, although it stresses that "their directors, of course, have also adopted preventive measures with municipal support". Femés has 22 students enrolled, while Las Breñas has 12 children.
Óscar Noda took advantage of the visit to the schools to inform their directors that the City Council has already submitted two projects with the purpose of accessing subsidies from National Parks in order to completely change the electrical installations of the centers of Uga, Las Breñas and Femés, whose total amount is budgeted at 80,000 euros. "As every year, we undertake painting, plumbing and other maintenance needs demanded by educational facilities," concludes Óscar Noda, who will also analyze this Thursday the situation and interventions in the CEIP Playa Blanca and the IES Yaiza.