The Platform of AFAs of the public school in Terrassa, known as La Pepeta, organized a protest this Thursday, June 4th, in the afternoon. The gathering took place in front of the Sagrat Cor de Jesús school, chosen due to the coincidence with an extraordinary meeting of the Municipal School Council. The main objective is to reject the decision by the Department of Education to close a line of Infantil 3 (I3) at the Roc Alabern school.
Outside the school, dozens of teachers, families, and members of La Pepeta expressed their discontent with chants such as 'We want quality public education', 'No line closed, no to cuts', or 'Fighting, fighting, we are also educating'. The deputy mayor for Education, Meritxell Lluís, left the School Council to listen to the protesters' complaints.
“"It is an unacceptable decision, because we had the commitment, both from the Department of Education and the Terrassa City Council, that all public school lines could be preserved this year, with a reduction in class sizes that would allow for quality education."
Tiago Ferreira, a member of La Pepeta, described the cut as 'highly unfair' and criticized that the educational community has to defend the right to education in the face of inaction by the authorities. He added that 'there is still hope to reverse this cut', but urged the City Council to 'do political and technical work' beyond 'expressing its disagreement and regrets'.
“"We believe it is intolerable and makes no sense. The line of this government and this department, which was supposed to be the progressive government, progressivism is conspicuous by its absence. Meanwhile, the facts show a clear bias towards private and subsidized schools and towards private interests."
Anna Èlia, also a member of La Pepeta, highlighted the importance of the Roc Alabern school for its neighborhood and warned that the loss of a public line could unbalance the presence of subsidized and private schools. She criticized what she considers a bias towards private and subsidized education by the government.
This demonstration coincides with the news of the majority rejection by teachers of the preliminary agreement with the Department of Education. 65.1% of the 60,686 teachers who voted were against it, thus maintaining the called strike. The Assamblea Comunitat Educativa de Terrassa supported the 'No', arguing that the preliminary agreement does not address the issue of class sizes or inclusivity, despite contemplating a slight salary increase.
