Date Published: 25/08/2020
ARCHIVED - Madrid will install 6,000 cameras in classrooms so that students can follow the classes from home
ARCHIVED ARTICLE Getting children back to school is complicated as cases continue to rise across Spain, and the 17 autonomous regions are proposing to tackle the problem in different ways.
The Regional government of Madrid, the region with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Spain, has announced that it is intending to buy more than 6,000 cameras to install in classrooms, so that classes can be followed online from home, as well as 70,000 computers for students and teachers.
In addition, the budget for cleaning the schools will be increased by 15 million euros, and the Community will buy 700,000 liters of hydroalcoholic gel.
The measures are part of the strategy of going back to school in the Community of Madrid presented by regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
The plan aims to focus on presencial tutorial, which the regional government says will be "massive" but combining it with telematic teaching in the case of Secondary and Baccalaureate students to avoid coronavirus infections. The regional government also plans to hire up to 8,500 more teachers if the health crisis worsens.
The delay in the presentation of the regional plan for going back to school, just over a week before classes start, has provoked criticism for inaction on the part of parents and unions. In addition, CCOO, UGT, CGT and STEM have called a strike on the start days of classes at different levels: Friday, September 4th in nursery schools; on Tuesday the 8th in Infant, Primary and Special Education Centers, and on Wednesday the 9th in institutes and Professional Training.
These unions, which have not been joined by the ANPE and CSIF, demand a lower ratio of students per classroom , division of groups to meet social distancing recommendations, increased staff, resources to face the “digital divide”, more cleaning staff and that all centers have nursing staff on-hand in case of sudden illness.
Catalonia
Masks will be obligatory for schoolchildren aged 12+ in all of Catalonia
Yesterday it was announced that masks will be compulsory for all students over 12 years of age across Catalonia, and for those over 6 years of age in those territories where the risk of contagion is highest, while the ratio of students in primary classes will be less than 20 students. The Catalan Government also announced that between September 15th and November 15th, half a million PCR tests will be carried out in-situ in schools throughout Catalonia.