@Aqui Noticias
Section VII of the National Union and Coordinator of Education Workers in Chiapas (SNTE-CNTE), declared that the SEP program “Learn at Home II” is a “luxury” to which only a minority will have access to when “80 Percent of Chiapas live in poverty and without the opportunity to have a television, a computer, internet, or some without electricity in their homes.”
It should be remembered that, on August 3rd, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that the start of the 2020-2021 school year will be on Monday 24th of this month, and that the classes will be virtual or remote until the COVID-19 “traffic light” turns green. In the same context, Esteban Moctezuma Barragan, Secretary of Education, explained that the contents will be broadcast through public television systems in alliance with four private television stations (Televisa, Azteca, Imagen and Milenio). It is assumed that those who do not have access to a television signal will be able to access via radio, textbooks and workbooks. “The last two options seem to be the only alternative for more than half a million students in Chiapas who live in rural and indigenous areas, because here, the “analog blackout” of 2016 left practically the entire population living without an open television signal outside the four main cities of the state”, explains Angeles Mariscal in an article published by Chiapas Paralelo.
This same article mentions that in Chiapas, according to the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFETEL), in 2019, only 36 percent had access to television. To this is added that only 16 percent of the total population have internet access, and according to the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), 57.1 percent of the state’s population lacks services basic, including electricity.
The Chiapas Teachers also affirmed that they will lack suitable conditions even when the epidemiological traffic light turns green, since “the educational centers are not in optimal conditions for a safe return, as there are no classrooms with spaces to keep a healthy distance inside, There is also no soap and water so that students can wash their hands frequently as indicated by the Health authorities.”
The education sector together with the health sector are looking for ways for a safe and more suitable return to the specific conditions of the state, they reported.
For more information in Spanish:
Sin tecnología para regreso a clase en zonas rurales de Chiapas (Chiapas Paralelo, 13 de agosto de 2020)
Modelo TV de la SEP, un lujo: Sección VII (Diario de Chiapas, 13 de agosto de 2020)
Regreso a clases podría demorarse más (El Sie7e de Chiapas, 12 de agosto de 2020)
Ni en semáforo verde habría condiciones para retornar a clases presenciales: CNTE (Aquí Noticias, 12 de agosto de 2020)
For more information from SIPAZ:
Nacional: REDIM presenta análisis sobre el impacto de la pandemia en los derechos de la infancia (August 13, 2020)
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