More than a year after the suspension of face-to-face classes as a prevention measure for the COVID-19 pandemic, schools of basic education in Jalisco, Coahuila and Chiapas re-opened on Monday, May 17.
The plan for the gradual return to face-to-face in the campuses of the three states – at Semáforo Verde since 7 May – will be staggered and only those that meet health requirements.
This was the reopening of schools by state:
Jalisco
The Secretariat of State Education reported that there would be a reopening of 13,000 basic education schools, both public and private, with the aim of providing care to students and having an approach with parents to inform them about their children’s academic performance.
From May 17, registrations, reception and delivery of tasks will be made; information and guidance will be given on students’ academic advancement, there will be delivery of material, such as textbooks, uniforms and tools; academic cycle-closing events will also be held.
Read also: Veracruz schools will be able to return to face-to-face classes from May 24
It should be remembered that from 1 March, certain face-to-face activities were allowed, such as sports activities and classroom attendance to receive accompaniment, all in groups of up to 9 students.
In the case of baccalaureates, the use of laboratories and workshops with a capacity of 30% was also allowed.
Juan Carlos Flores Miramontes, Secretary of State Education, reported that each school was being evaluated for its state of infrastructure, due to the deterioration and vandalization that took place during its suspension.
He added that more than 600 schools were being tapped, to perform an adequacy service, in order to leave them ready for full return to school, which would be until August 2021.
Chiapas
In the case of Chiapas, there was an initial participation of 500 schools, which were trained and certified for reopening on May 17, as part of the “Safe Return to Classes to COVID-19” course.
This program contemplated the subsequent and gradual return of the total schools at the different educational levels of the state and had the participation of principals, teachers and administrative staff from more than a thousand schools.
The Undersecretariat for Federalized Education, as part of the presentation “Pilot Plan for The Return to Classes Under the New Rules of Cohabitation for the State of Chiapas” reported that the initial reintegration of activities was contemplated in 500 schools in view of building a route back to the new school normality.
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Within the plan there are two goals to be achieved, pointed out Rosa Aidé Dominguez Ochoa, secretary of state education, the first is that the selected schools join the face-to-face work as piloting a total start and with the aim of combating educational lag, dropout and increasing educational quality.
The second and final goal is to gradually incorporate the total number of schools, until they all finish the 2020-2021 school year in person.
To achieve this, the Secretariat of State Education indicated that agreements would be made between educational, government and municipal authorities.
In addition, as part of the planned actions, work center meetings, school cleaning and sanitary filter preparation were organized.
Coahuila
On Monday, Coahuila Governor Miguel Angel Riquelme noted that 20,000 students returned to classes in 70 schools, as part of the step-by-step back-to-school plan.
In his participation in the presidential morning conference, held in Torreón, Coahuila, the governor reported that the return to school would be in stages and the first schools selected were those that met the health filters.
On May 11, the State Ministry of Education published a list of 69 schools planned to open as part of the Back to School Pilot Plan. These were preschool, elementary and secondary.
For her part, public education secretary Delfina Gómez had stressed that return to face-to-face classes would not be mandatory, but asked mothers and fathers to make an effort to meet a safe return.
He explained that tutors should sign a letter of engagement authorizing students to return.
Last Tuesday, Delfina Gómez noted that, thanks to advances in teacher vaccination, on May 17 Coahuila schools would return to classes, and until May 24 activities in the classrooms of Veracruz, Chiapas, Tamaulipas and Nayarit would be revived.
In early April, undersecretary of health Hugo López-Gatell reported that the vaccination plan for the country’s teachers would be in stages, according to the Epidemiological Traffic Light presented by each state.
In the first phase, which took effect from April 20 to 23, educational staff from Chiapas, Coahuila, Veracruz and Tamaulipas began vaccination.
In the second stage, from April 28 to May 4, the inoculation of teachers continued in Jalisco, Baja California, Nuevo León, Oaxaca and Aguascalientes.
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