The Tica Minister of Education, Guiselle Cruz, was again ruled out the suspension of in-person classes, this after repeated calls of teacher’s unions and some parents to suspend them. Cruz, defended the impact that asisting to school has for the education of students, although she did accept that they maintain constant monitoring in case of having to reverse the decision.
“To close the educational centers again, is to compromise the future of the students, it is to permanently affect their cognitive and social development, truncate their future and leave many of them in a vulnerable condition,” she said.
“Interruptions in instructional time in the classroom can have a severe impact on the learning capacity of a boy, a girl, the longer they are out of school, the less likely they will return,” continued the Minister. Additionally, Cruz stressed that in-person education in the coming months will be vital for the students.
Vaccines for teachers
Although the Minister asked the head of Health, Daniel Salas, priority to vaccinate teachers, the request was rejected. According to Salas, there are at least 25 groups asking for the advancement of vaccination but the current structure already contemplates the protection of the most vulnerable population.
Thus, teachers over 58 years of age are already in the process of being vaccinated. Also, those with risk factors are in the next group, Salas said. It is for this reason that the Minister of Education pointed to strict compliance with protocols.
“We are making every effort to comply with health protocols, to stay in combined education (distance and in-person) and thus not continue to affect the education of children and adolescents or their future,” said Cruz.
According to data from the Education Ministry itself, the cases of COVID-19 in the sector have been stable in the first part of this year:
March 12-18: 111 new cases
March 19-25: 124 more cases
From March 26 to April 8: 143 new cases
April 9-15: 280 new cases
Due to the increase in cases at the country level as well as in the public educational system, the National Association of Educators (ANDE), asked Parents not to send their children to in-person classes. In contrast, Cruz emphasized that virtual classes deepen differences between students since in 2020, 324 thousand students did not have internet access to carry on distance learning.
