BY DALILA ESCOBAR
The News
Public Education Secretary Aurelio Nuño launched this Monday Escuelas al CIEN (National School Infrastructure Bonds) or Schools at 100 Percent program in Oaxaca, the state with the most dissident teachers, in the midst of a visit for which no notice was given by the Public Education Secretariat.
Once among students and teachers of the Emiliano Zapata primary school, in the Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz municipality, Nuño declared: “I want to be a Secretary that is in the schools; that is getting to know them, covering them, meeting the students; meeting and opening a dialogue with the teachers and,of course, with the parents”. The official, however, avoided the National Coordinator of Education Workers getting wind of his visit.
Despite the Public Education Secretariat announcing every weekend the schools to be visited by the Secretary — in Mexico City or elsewhere — on this occasion they avoided spreading the information.
In his speech following the honouring of the flag ceremony at the primary school, Nuño took a moment to say that “we know the Educational Reform has generated lots of expectation and worries, and we must discuss it. There are many rumours surrounding the Reform that need to be cleared and discussed”.
He added that he sought to “listen, that you tell me what worries you, the themes you’re concerned about and that in a very respectful way we may all dialogue and discuss.”
During his visit throughout the campus, Nuño Mayer said that in Oaxaca there would be and investment of over 2 thousand million pesos in little over 2 thousand 600 schools, among which that very school and the neighbouring kindergarten would receive 2 millions pesos.
“This win have an impact on more than 360 thousand student, which means 40 percent of students in Oaxaca will gain schools in better conditions and more dignified schools with this program”, asserted the official in the event at which State Gov. Gabino Cué was present.
Nuño sought to give examples of what would happen in cases of insufficient resources to cover all the needs in the most deprived schools or most marginalised areas, as occurs in Oaxaca, in which cases the priorities could be to fix roofs or restrooms.
Also this Monday, the Syndicate of Workers and Academics of the Benito Juárez Autonomous University started a strike at the institution to demand raise in their salary, leaving 25 thousand students without classes.