“Last year the objective was to keep schools open, this year’s objective can only be focused on achieving the maximum attendance possible“. The return to school is just around the corner, as on 10 September the students of Infant, Primary, Secondary and Bachillerato will start classes.
A return to the classroom in which the educational community approaches with the hope of recovering a prepandemic normality. “It is essential to make every effort to fuction in person. We must continue to comply with security measures against the virus, but the role of a teacher is irreplaceable,” explained Victor Villatoro, spokesman for the teachers’ union ANPE.
An argument also shared by Joan Ramon Xamena, president of the Association of Secondary School Principals Adesma. “There is more optimism than last year, we believe that if things are done well, face-to-face teaching can work. We can’t relax, but I trust that classes will go as smoothly as possible”.
Pre-pandemic attendance
Likewise, the return to the classrooms will also mean the reduction of the distance between students, from 1.5 meters to 1.2, and a return to the pre-pandemic class ratios. According to Cosme Orell, spokesman for the union STEI, this is a negative measure. “The reduction of the safety distance doesn’t seem to be the most prudent thing to do in this moment. In addition, one of the positive conclusions of last year was that the ratios of 20 students per classroom worked very well, it should be kept that way”.
On the other hand, from the perspective of Joana Maria Mas, president of the Association of Directors of Early Childhood and Primary Education, Adipma, the reduction of class ratios seems very complicated at present due to the lack of teachers and available space to teach in schools. “With the splitting of classes we lose fundamental spaces such as workshops, libraries or music rooms. Many schools have functioned without any specialist or special education teachers because they had to split other subjects. It is something that is done circumstantially, but for two years in a row, this is not the most desirable for educational quality”.
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