Teachers march against decree

PRENSA.COM/María Carmen Fernández

Los docentes portaban carteles con mensajes en contra de la privatización de la educación del país.

Notas relacionadas:

• Lucy Molinar: ‘Tenía tiempo que no escuchaba tanta mentira junta’
• Entregarán 87 mil ´laptops´

12/12/2012 - Teachers from eight unions staged a march today from Parque Porras toward the Supreme Court.

The march was held to protest the Executive Decree which teachers say will lead to privatize the education system. Union leader Luis López said 1,000 teachers supported the protest.

The marchers were accompanied by a band that played the national anthem. In addition, they were carrying posters saying "Don't allow that public education be removed by private education."

UNION OPPOSITION

Teachers union leader Andrés Rodríguez said today that his colleagues have been given a "wake-up call" against the executive decree that unions think will lead to the privatization of the education system.

Eight unions have declared a strike for today which Rodríguez said has left the classrooms in the country virtually empty.

Minister of Education Lucy Molinar said that the unions have misunderstood the decree and denied that it is an effort to privatize the education system.

She said the Decree sets a "new model of administration."

The biggest change, the minister said, is that it creates academic councils that will help schools accomplish goals and help evaluate the performances of teachers.

"A person who does not want to be evaluated is one that has decided to be mediocre," said the minister. "The assessment allows us to see what is wrong and what must be corrected."

Rodríguez said the decree violates the law and is a way of distracting citizens so that they don't ask for results from the curricular transformation.