In it IES Magallanes Nothing is what it seems and few things are as they should be. Or what they should be, which is the same. If a few days ago the counselor Education of the Government of the Canary Islands, Poli Suárez, announced a meeting with mayors of the south of Tenerife to address the situation of overcrowding of the centers, this one, which is located in the center of San Isidro (Granadilla de Abona), is one of the which is not overcrowded, but overcrowded, according to students, teachers and mothers and fathers, among other groups. Service personnel such as cleaning also suffer from an unedifying outlook for public education.
Due to population growth, or rather a flood, the municipalities that are in the worst situation are those of Arona and Granadilla de Abona. In the first were the popular barracks of the IES de Guaza, which, in theory, were going to disappear after the opening of the IES Parque La Reina this year. However, they will be inherited by the students of the school (CEIP) of Los Abrigos.
It’s not that the situation has become complicated overnight. The population of the municipality that houses IES Magallanes has practically doubled in twenty years. From the 27,244 inhabitants in 2002 to the 52,477 residents it had last year, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics. An average growth of 1,261 people every twelve months. Of the entire population of Granadilla de Abona, more than half live in San Isidro.
A building that was designed 19 years ago
This institute, which teaches from the first year of ESO to the second year of Baccalaureate, passing through intermediate and higher level training cycles, has around 1,300 students, according to its director, Natalia Guillén, who points to the building in construction annex to the entrance module to the institute. The construction poster explains that it involves the construction of four classrooms that would be completed in September 2022, as well as a cafeteria.
“The building had been approved since 2004, apparently, but construction did not begin until two years ago.” The person who says it is María Torres Mesa, student and spokesperson for the Libertad 27 union (the name and number of the street where the IES is located).
Torres forms a compact group with her colleagues Joy Edomwonyi, president, Alba Torres and Matías Mato, who act as guides of this peculiar educational center, whose use system has turned what were recreational spaces into an endless labyrinth.
“Well, and it won’t be finished until September of next year. I hope so. But the most curious thing is that the project did not contemplate any bathroom. And what do we do? “Shall we probe the kids?” Guillén asks about the structure in the works. “Look, that over there – an awning – is one of the three shaded areas that we have in the center, which were paid for by the AFA – family association – by selling raffles,” says María Torres, who affirms that “our patio is “that area where you are – the entrance – and the sports field.” She takes a few more steps through this puzzle.
“In the summer they placed these two modules here, which are prefabricated classrooms, without Wi-Fi, in the patio and, if you look closely, they are right in front of an emergency exit, which is blocked. In other words, not even the safety regulations are met.” Here everything has grown based on the occupation of the free space that existed, whether it was the playground or the stairwells.
Below the latter, in building A, “coexistence and orientation offices” have been improvised, while “the two laboratories in the center are used as classrooms because, as sad as it may seem, we must prioritize and it is more important have a class where you can put students in than teach a microbiology subject. Therefore, all this is affecting the quality of the education we receive,” emphasizes the union spokesperson.
The fighting ground is no longer. It does not have sand nor does it practice sports. It has been converted into a small building in which two other classrooms have been set up to teach classes. They preserve the shape and the steps.
“Microbiology is not a priority”
The teacher’s room, in a center where there are around 130, is so small that, as luck would have it, they fit around twenty at a time. The bathrooms in building A are tiny and, however, it has to serve a student body of 300 people, according to Libertad 27 calculations.
Everyone believes that what was going to be the cafeteria of the new building will, finally, be the teachers’ room and that the planned laboratory will be used to generate a new place in which to “place” the students. No microbiology, María laments.
The center is missing two administrators but there is a problem if they were hired. And there is no place to prepare the corresponding work areas for the workers. So you don’t know what is better and what is worse.
The cleaning capacity is also low. The union members testify that “in all the time we have been here, we have only seen the covered field cleaned twice,” in addition to the fact that “in the morning, building A – the one with the 300 students – only has one partner, Cristina, to take care of everything. The rest don’t have it.”
The gardens have been converted into a space for conversation. Two benches placed between hedges are a good example of this. And there is no library, they say from Libertad 27. “We must be the only institute in the world that does not have one,” they say.
“I wish the pandemic would return again,” Natalia Guillén emphasizes: “We had little time with the students, but, at least, it was quality educational time. The thing is, with the ratios we have, the quality of education here…” she puts her hands on her head. Everyone, however, agrees on one aspect: the best thing about IES Magallanes is the “raw material.” The students, teachers and service personnel who guarantee public education. At least for now.
The new building with four classrooms is more than a year behind schedule
With an investment of 647,499.20 euros, the expansion building is more than a year late, despite the fact that, when it is born, it will already have become too small, according to both the teaching community and the Libertad 27 union. It should have been finished in September of last year and, according to the information given by the director, Natalia Guillén, it will be ready in the same month next year. It was planned to have a cafeteria and laboratory, but no one believes that this will be the final destination of the facilities.
