Today teachers and students returned to Escuela Secundaria Mexico in San Roman Village – for what one school official described as a regular school day. It was the first “regular day” since Thursday when there was a mass sick-out of teachers and Friday when 100 students didn’t show up. At the root of the problem is a conflict between the principal and the teachers. As we showed you on Friday night, Education Minister Patrick Faber visited the school and called both sides to the table. And in the middle of all this adult conflict are high school students who have their own very clear ideas about what’s wrong at the school. Our colleagues at Channel 10 from Orange Walk sampled their opinions on Friday.
At 1 on Friday afternoon, students streamed out of the compound of the Escuela Secundario Mexico High School in Corozal – and shortly after the janitor padlocked the school’s main gate. A day earlier there was a mass sick-out by teachers.
Student #1,
“They only had eight teachers, they only had 8 teachers. With 8 teachers, what will we do?”
Fortunato Noble, Channel 10
“Out of how many teachers?”
Student #1,
“Like 38 approximately. 28 teachers were absent.”
Fortunato Noble,
“Were you given a reason why the teachers were absent?”
Student #1,
“Because they planned that they were going to be sick or something.”
Fortunato Noble,
“Yesterday you left at twelve o’clock midday. Why?”
Student #2,
“No teachers were there.”
Fortunato Noble,
“How does that make you feel?”
Student #2,
“Sad.”
Student #3,
“No teacher was here, no.”
Fortunato Noble,
“So what happened to the teachers?”
Student #3,
“I don’t know, there were no teachers here.”
Fortunato Noble,
“Were you given a reason why no teacher was here?”
Student #3,
“No.”
Fortunato Noble,
“Why didn’t the teachers come yesterday, do you know?”
Student #4,
“According to them they didn’t come because they were sick.”
Student #5,
“When I came I got to know that the teachers called in sick. We were having nothing and I called my mom to tell her to come for me and when she came they didn’t make my mom take me home.”
Fortunato Noble,
“So the teacher reported sick?”
Student #5,
“Yes.”
Fortunato Noble,
“You think they are really sick?”
Student #5,
“No, sick of the administration.”
Sick of the school’s administration – specifically – this woman - the principal – Juanita Lucas. The students were sent home early on Friday because of a meeting between principal Lucas and teachers - mediated by Education Minister Patrick Faber.
Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
“I have asked them to let us return to work as normal for the new school week, starting Monday, and that we will be sending that team of investigators in, during the course of the next week, and hopefully we can find out exactly what the problem is, so that we can come up with a solution.”
Fortunato Noble,
“At this point we don’t know what’s the cause of the problem?”
Patrick Faber,
“There are some complaints about working conditions what is clear to us is that some of the teachers aren’t happy in the environment now. What is exactly causing them to be unhappy, we are not certain and that is exactly what we will investigate.”
And that’s what Faber told angry parents who confronted him.
Parent #1,
“We voted in a new government because we wanted change in every institution. We want the institution to be cleaned out, we don’t want no PUP in there. We want UDP in there.”
Patrick Faber,
[Responding to parents] “I am saying to you that we cannot play politics with education. Let us give the thing the due process…”
Due process – but for the students it is neither here nor there – they support the teachers but just want to be in class.
Michelle Briceno, Student
“It affects me because I won’t be learning what I should be learning in this time that the teachers are on strike so I don’t know. I really, I am with the teachers because the vice principal is the one who really treats us bad.”
As Education Minister Patrick Faber mentioned, a team from the Ministry has been sent to the school to investigate. When we called the school today, principal Juanita Lucas was out of office. An employee told us only one teacher didn’t show up today.
