The Board of Directors of the AMPA of the IES Canarias Cabrera Pinto de La Laguna (Tenerife) has presented its resignation in plenary session this Friday due to the lack of responses from the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands to the measures adopted by the center, such as the elimination of the bilingual program in French in 3rd year of ESO or the imposition of the baccalaureate in the afternoon shift.
Furthermore, the AMPA regrets that, precisely at this time of greatest concern, the center’s management has decided to dismiss the coordinators of the two language programs after expressing disagreement with the decisions taken at the center.
In its communication to the families, the AMPA justifies its resignation by abandoning the Ministry of Education and the Educational Inspectorate that “prefer to put themselves in profile” and allow with their complicity the “fait accompli policy” of the center’s management.
Among these events would be possible irregularities in the approval of the Baccalaureate classes being held in the afternoon shift.
Last year, the IES Canarias Cabrera Pinto had moved the high school classes to the afternoons due to the pandemic, in order to reduce the number of students per classroom and ensure distance.
This year, although in the registration documents of the center it was reported that the classes would be in the morning, in June the management already announced the appointment of a head of studies for the afternoon shift.
Despite having that decision made, the families point out, he waited until July 19 to call a meeting of the School Council to approve that measure.
The AMPA has also denounced irregularities in that vote, such as that it was convened with only one working day in advance, that it was approved with a simple majority (9 votes in favor, 8 against -corresponding to all the representatives of the students and families present- and the abstention of the representative of the City Council of La Laguna) instead of qualified and that the person who that decision had made the head of studies vote.
“ACCOMPLICES OF IRREGULARITIES”
Neither the Ministry of Education nor the Inspection have ruled on the matter, which, in the opinion of the AMPA, “makes them accomplices of these irregularities.”
Likewise, the AMPA regrets that the center did not inform the families directly and publicly of this measure or their motivation until September, which it attributes to “pedagogical reasons” that it does not explain.
In addition, they have doubts that this double shift has managed to reduce the ratios of students per classroom, which exceed 30 students in many groups, and they fear that the objective is to maintain it indefinitely.
In her opinion, the counselor only got involved in analyzing the situation already in September, a few days before the beginning of the school year, with little room for maneuver, despite the fact that the AMPA had warned of the situation already in July.
LANGUAGE PROGRAMS
This measure adds to the discomfort generated by the elimination of the bilingual program in French (Èmile) in 3rd year of ESO.
Despite the fact that the centre’s management project promised to extend this program to the four Compulsory Secondary Education courses, as required by the regulations, the center only offered it in two: 3rd and 4th year of ESO.
“But without offering explanations to the families,” they comment, the management has chosen to eliminate him from the 3rd year of ESO and delete this program from its website.
CONCERN AT THE ULL AND THE FRENCH EMBASSY
“This attitude not only worried the AMPA, but also the University of La Laguna, which warned of the value of these programs for the entire Canarian society. The French Embassy also expressed its concern, since the Cabrera Pinto has been distinguished with a quality seal from the French Government ”, the statement states.
After the mediation of the counselor Manuela de Armas, the center agreed to implement the Èmile program in 1st year of ESO, but maintains its elimination in 3rd year of ESO.
“Neither the Ministry nor the IES Cabrera Pinto have justified why the criteria in the extension of this program have been changed, which raises the fear that students currently in 2nd and 3rd of ESO may access this program and prepare adequately to access it. to the Bachibac, the dual baccalaureate that gives access to French and Spanish universities ”, they point out.
The AMPA also regrets that the center continues without making public what are the criteria for access to the CLIL and Èmile language programs, which allow students to take various subjects in English or French, respectively.
Along these lines, they indicate that each year more applications are presented than places, but the center still does not publish the access criteria, nor the lists of admitted in advance, so that the excluded families cannot claim either.
Given this situation, the AMPA cannot understand that the management has chosen to dismiss the coordinators of both language programs at this very moment, after one of them made public its disagreement with the afternoon shift for the Baccalaureate and the other after express your disagreement with the management of these programs and your disagreement with the schedules.
This, together with the voluntary transfer of the only Bachibac History teacher that the center had “due to internal discrepancies”, makes the AMPA fear for the permanence of these linguistic programs.
