Parents  travel to Coclé denounce teacher strike

Members of parents’ associations  traveled to Coclé on Saturday to denounce  at the “single dialogue table” the national teacher strike that began almost a month ago in Panama which they said denied the rights of children

Banners  carried messages such as “Enough is enough” or “Getting paid without working is also corruption.”

“Constitutionally they have rights, but the human rights of our children are being violated,” one of the protesters told local television.

A delegation was received by the Archbishop of Panama, José Domingo Ulloa, facilitator of the dialogue; the Minister of Education, Maruja Gorday, and educational leaders.

The nationwide teachers’ strike began on July 6, although some schools have remained open and are giving classes to the few children who attend mostly elementary school

The educational leaders have said that they will maintain the educational strike until they obtain “a satisfactory answer” from the Government to the demand that they comply with the 6% of the gross domestic product for education, as established by law but not honored.

They argue that quality education cannot be provided if the high school laboratories are empty, or the infrastructure and services of the schools are deficient.