The back to school in Ceuta starts this Tuesday, September 1, with the incorporation of the teaching staff, in a context conditioned by the situation generated after the massive entry of migrants on July 30.
The students will return to the classrooms on September 8, but teaching unions, parents' associations, and youth groups have doubts about whether the device announced by the Ministry of Education will be sufficient and fully operational by then.
The Local Security Board has agreed on a specific plan for educational centers, while the management teams also supervise the internal organization of the schools and institutes.
Police accompaniment on school routes and entrances to the centers
The Secretary of State for Education, Abelardo de la Rosa, has conveyed to directors, parents' associations, and youth groups that the Ministry is working on a device aimed at ensuring that minors can move around and access the centers safely.
Among the announced measures is police accompaniment on certain school routes, in addition to the presence of personnel during the arrivals and departures of students.
Education also plans to request a reinforcement of surveillance in the vicinity of schools during the afternoons and nights, with the aim of preventing unauthorized persons from accessing the buildings.
This device will be supplemented by a psychological intervention plan to assist students who may be particularly affected by the situation experienced in the city in recent weeks.
As De la Rosa explained, the goal is for students to be able to "integrate" and "digest" what happened and to reduce their emotional consequences as much as possible.
CSIF demands that the measures be operational before September 1
The teaching unions have received the announcements from the Ministry with caution.
The spokesperson for Education of CSIF in Ceuta, Lola Cuadra, demands "real guarantees" that the measures related to security, cleaning, and personnel reinforcement are fully prepared before the return of the teachers.
CSIF also requests that a sufficient daily cleaning in all centers be guaranteed, beyond ordinary services, and that the possibilities for reconciliation be expanded through morning and evening classrooms.
The union also demands the immediate activation of the psychosocial care plan, with sufficient professionals, as well as an increase in educational staff and a reinforcement of guidance teams.
ANPE puts Education's announcements "on hold"
The spokesperson for ANPE in Ceuta, Remedios Acosta, is also cautious and assures that she keeps the announced measures "on hold" until it is verified that they are actually implemented.
Acosta recalls that a good part of the actions require funding and considers it essential to verify if the promised deployment materializes before the students return to class.
The representative of ANPE has been particularly critical of the response from the administrations in recent weeks and maintains that Ceuta continues to need additional measures.
The union agrees with CSIF in requesting morning and afternoon classrooms and also demands psychological assistance for families.
UGT focuses on safety during commutes
The president of the Non-University Teaching Staff Board of Ceuta and general secretary of UGT Public Services in the city, Trinidad Megías, believes that the main problem currently lies in the commutes of minors.
As she explains, cleaning reinforcements have already been carried out especially in those centers that were used to temporarily host minors.
"The most serious problem right now is the issue of safety," says Megías, who recalls that a large part of the students will have to commute daily from their homes to schools and institutes.
UGT therefore proposes to create or expand school bus lines with security personnel, both inside the vehicles and at the drop-off and pick-up locations.
The union also demands to expand morning and afternoon classrooms to educational cycles where they currently do not exist and to offer psychosocial support to students, families, and teachers.
"We continue with the same situation since July 30"
Megías summarizes the concern of part of the teaching staff by pointing out that the situation in Ceuta cannot yet be considered completely overcome.
"The situation we are experiencing in our city is not that a catastrophe has happened, it has ended, and now we are recovering; it is that we continue with the same situation since July 30," says the union representative.
This context explains that the unions insist that the announcements must turn into concrete measures before the return of the students.
Families warn of possible absenteeism
The FAMPA Cuatro Culturas, the Youth Council, and the Student Movement have also warned that some students may not attend class during the first days of the school year.
Sebastián, a member of the Board of Directors of FAMPA Cuatro Culturas, assures that there are families that are afraid and that still do not fully trust the announced measures.
Although he considers some of the proposals presented by Education to be "coherent," he points out that they largely coincide with the demands that the associations themselves had previously conveyed to the Provincial Directorate.
FAMPA maintains that there are parents who are considering not initially taking their children to school or personally accompanying them on their journeys.
According to Sebastián, some families do not want minors to go or return alone, even in the case of adolescents aged 12 or 13 years.
The most serious accusations, expressed by the associations, are not verified in this text
In his statements, the representative of FAMPA also makes very serious claims about alleged crimes and about the existing pressure in certain health services.
These statements correspond to the assessment and the complaints expressed by the association, and no official data is provided in this information that allows them to be verified independently.
This distinction is particularly relevant in a context of strong social tension, where administrations have asked to avoid rumors and unverified messages.
Young people consider the measures insufficient
The president of the Youth Council and the Student Movement, Adil Hamed Cañibano, also appears skeptical about the announcements made by the Ministry.
He considers that the proposed measures are "insufficient" and demands that young people be able to regain complete normality in their daily lives.
Cañibano acknowledges that he cannot specify whether any eventual absenteeism will be concentrated only in the first days or could be prolonged for a longer time.
Despite this, he defends the importance of students returning to class, especially those facing decisive courses such as second year of Bachillerato or university access.
"We need our young people to attend, but in the best possible way," he summarizes.
On September 8, the first test for the device
The incorporation of the teaching staff this Tuesday will allow checking which measures are already prepared within the centers and which are still pending.
The real exam will come on September 8, when thousands of students return to the classrooms.
Until then, unions and families demand that the number of personnel, the coverage of school routes, the surveillance at the accesses, the cleaning reinforcements, and the announced psychological support be specified.
The Ministry defends that there is a plan to ensure a safe return. However, representatives of teachers, parents, and students agree on the same demand: that all measures be functioning before the minors return to the schools and institutes of Ceuta.