A protest by students, mothers, fathers and teachers in front of the Presidente Roosevelt State School of Basic Education (EEEB) on Monday morning (18), in the Menino Deus neighborhood, in Porto Alegre, called for urgent solutions to the lack of electrical energy that has been going on for more than two weeks in the teaching unit. The situation has caused difficulties in carrying out face-to-face classes.
According to the protesters, the decision taken by the State Department of Education (Seduc) last Friday (15), to transfer the approximately 800 students to the Colégio Estadual Júlio de Castilhos and the Escola Estadual de Ensino Fundamental Cândido Portinari, also brought more inconvenience. This is because many students find it difficult to travel and go to school – as these costs are not being subsidized by Seduc throughout this period.
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The protest organized by the school community was concentrated in front of the educational institution early in the morning and later went to the headquarters of the 1st Education Coordination, at R. Cel. André Belo. With banners and posters, students and teachers expressed their indignation regarding the lack of an emergency solution that would not require the displacement of students.
Commission calls for emergency measures
A commission made up of community representatives met with the head of the 1st CRE, Márcia da Silva Garcia, and other government representatives. According to the general director of the 39th Center of the Cpers Union, Neiva Lazzarotto, who was supporting the demonstration, it was requested that the state have emergency transformers available to be installed while the bidding process is underway.
“For emergency situations, it is necessary to have emergency solutions. We were told that it is ‘impossible’ because schools have different demands. The only emergency transformer is being used in a school in Uruguaiana. We will continue to press to guarantee the normality of classes”, evaluate.
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Still according to Neiva, the measure, in addition to bringing a series of difficulties in the day-to-day lives of families and students, also increases the work of teachers, who need to simultaneously deal with posting content online and face-to-face classes given to students. who are unable to travel to temporary headquarters.
“It is a great concern that this solution found by the State will overload teachers. There are two types of work. In this context, it is unacceptable that there are no emergency solutions for these cases of power outages in schools. Therefore, the community is Congratulations on mobilizing”, adds the union director.
“Our school is being scrapped”, laments student’s mother
The demonstration was attended by families of students who consider President Roosevelt as an extension of their own home – and, therefore, want to fight to preserve it. One of these people is Marina Soares Belmonte, who was present at the negotiation committee to denounce the scrapping process that the educational institution has been suffering over the last few years.
“The school is being scrapped. Now the transformer has burned down and we’ve been without electricity for two weeks and each of our children goes to a school. We already have a route and we still have to pay extra for the ticket”, he says.
A student’s grandmother, known as Dona Catarina, was also at the demonstration to demand that the state urgently provide a solution. She reports that she feels insecure about the itinerary that her 12-year-old daughter has to follow to go to another school.
“I can’t leave the house at six in the morning and take her there and then pick her up. The government has to take action, it has money for so many things. She’s a 12-year-old child and can’t walk around. It’s twelve kilometers away. They have to solve this here”, he charges.
With four children studying at Presidente Roosevelt, mother Valessa Oliveira expressed concern about the future of the school.
“This worries me a lot, I live opposite the school and pay relatively high rent because of the location, but it was worth it because of the school. I’m very sad. Parents need to come together”, he highlights.
What does Seduc say
When asked by the Brasil de facto RS newsroom about the school’s situation, Seduc states that it “treats the situation as a priority and the forecast is that electricity will be reestablished by Monday (25)”. Until then, classes will continue to be offered at Cândido Portinari, Júlio de Castilhos schools and remotely.
Trust note:
Regarding Escola Presidente Roosevelt, in Porto Alegre, the State Department of Education informs that due to the storms last week, the 225kva transformer failed, causing a power outage at the institution.
The educational institution has resources from the Agiliza Program and an account balance, which allows the work to be carried out with financial autonomy, making the process faster.
The technical team from Seduc and the 1st Regional Coordination of Public Works will inspect the educational institution to collect the technical elements and define how to contract the service on Monday afternoon (18).
Seduc reiterates that it treats the situation as a priority and is expected to have electricity restored by Monday (25).
During the renovation, classes will be offered at Cândido Portinari, Júlio de Castilhos schools and remotely, via Google classroom or printed material.
Source: BdF Rio Grande do Sul
Editing: Marcelo Ferreira