A net completely covers the roof of the gymnasium of the Xarc institute in Santa Eulària. You only have to look up to see that is not because the education center teaches trapeze classes but to prevent the slats from collapsing on the heads of schoolchildren and their teachers. The space smells musty, mold is visible on the walls. Some benches, strategically placed in one of the corners, hide the completely lifted pavement. The damage can also be seen on the outside. Moisture stains, chipping on the walls and cracks of which students and families, teachers and management team have long regarded with concern.

The situation of the gymnasium is not exceptional. The damage extends all over the center and has been an issue for some time. A situation that yesterday caused the students to concentrate in front of the door of the center to demand the Balearic Regional Ministry of Education to make the necessary repairs. “This is not new. The protest is because we have seen the maintenance and infrastructure of the center negleted for years by the institutions and the Ministry of Education. There are deficiencies and shortcomings that are not only visual and aesthetic, but some compromise the safety of the educational community,” says Victor Torres, president of the association of students of the center and student of fourth year of secondary school, which along with third year students are the organizers of the strike.

“We mainly have leaks, overhangs that fall to pieces, rusty metal roofs that can also fall, bathrooms constantly out of service and tiles that collapse in classrooms and corridors. There are also computers that do not work properly because they are very old and the blinds and window shades are thirty years old and don’t do their job because they do not regulate the sunlight as they should,” says Torres as more than a hundred students congregate behind him. Of the 170 third and fourth year students who were called to strike, only three have attended class, explains the president, who points out that the first and second year students cannot “by law” call a strike, an action for which neither the students of training cycles nor of Bachillerato presented a proposal. Many of the latter, however, are at the protest, which is led by a huge banner that reads “decent facilities for a good education”. Some hold up placards with handwritten messages: Â “We want doors that work”, “We want lights to turn on”,  “Fix the blinds now!”…. “We can’t have classes because it’s cold. Let’s see if they listen to us, because nobody does anything,” adds Aurora Jiménez, who also serves as a spokesperson for the students and encourages students from other secondary schools to take the initiative and mobilize if they have something to claim. “This has been our initiative, and there was no adult who has told us to organize it,” she continues.

“We want real action from the Ministry of Education”

Torres says that the school management has explained the situation on several occasions to the Regional Ministry of Education: “They respond by detailing the action, but getting down to work, which is what we want, has not yet happened. We do not want a budget, but real action. There may be a project and a budget, but if there is no real action…”.

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