Cancun, Q.R. — Dozens of volunteer parents along with education officials began the long process of cleaning schools. On Monday, schools from several municipalities underwent the process that will see them open their doors to students at the end of the month.
The Secretary of Education, Ana Isabel Vásquez Jiménez, was part of the group that inaugurated the School Recovery Days project, which will take place throughout the month of August.
Inside the schools, extensive cleaning will be done to all facilities as well as furniture while outside, trees will be pruned and school yards freed of a year’s worth of debris.
Vásquez Jiménez referred to the project as “a crusade to recover our schools through joint work,” explaining that there will be some federal guidelines, but that the decision to return to schools is in the hands of the state government.
She says for now, the intention is to have students start the 2021-2022 school year on August 30, with a mixed schedule and on a voluntary basis.
She also said that during the time state schools were closed due to the pandemic, “300 of them suffered vandalism or theft, which will mean a very large investment by the state government.”
“There are schools from which pipes, water tanks, wiring, even educational material for our children were taken from kindergarten classes,” she said adding that there are others that fared out better due to continued surveillance, but “all schools require a full review.”
In Puerto Morelos, the cleaning and maintenance of school facilities began at the Ramón Bravo Prieto as part of the school recovery project. The municipal secretary for Human Development, Juan López Toox, reported that there are 25 schools in 19 buildings that include preschool, primary, secondary and high school levels that accommodate 5,600 students throughout the municipality.
“We hope to finish within the calendar time of three weeks,” he said regarding the anticipated restarting of classes for August 30.
