Teachers Intensify Protests, Announce Legal Action Against the Ministry of Education Measures
The various teachers’ unions, united in the Teachers’ Action Front (FAM), the National Union of Educators of Panama (UNEP), and the Union of Educators for the Quality of Panamanian Education (UNECEP), announced that they will continue their nationwide strike and that, starting Monday, June 30, protests in the capital city will take place on the grounds of the National Assembly, ahead of the start of the new legislative session. For the last half of June, the comptroller confirmed that the wage withholding will continue for approximately 7,500 educators who remain on strike and new replacement teachers will be commissioned for service. Parents support the hiring of new teachers.
It is Estimated that 15,000 Teachers are on Strike
The Ministry of Education’s (Meduca) decision to replace striking teachers to ensure student learning has been welcomed by parents, as their children have been the main victims of the diverse opinions surrounding the law reforming the Social Security Fund (CSS). Vanessa Guardado, a spokesperson for the guardians, believes that educators’ right to strike does not empower them to harm students and their learning, and therefore, “strongly agrees” that the necessary actions be taken to regulate their teaching process. Guardado reiterated that if teachers do not want to return to schools, they should give those with a calling, but who have been unable to enter the system, the opportunity to take their places and continue educating students.
“I agree with the appointment of new educators so that our children receive a decent education this school year and in the years to come,” he told Panamá América. The parent-teacher association movement for children with disabilities sees the current crisis as an “opportunity” to transform the system in areas that have historically been neglected, such as special education and attention to diversity. Dayana Castillo, a representative of the movement, suggests that authorities implement a national plan for inclusive and participatory educational emergency, restructure human resources, prioritizing ethical profiles committed to the rights of all students, and forge alliances with civil society to ensure that decisions respond to the needs of the educational community.
According to Luis Herrera, Secretary General of the Ministry of Education (Meduca), Executive Decree No. 17 aims to create an exceptional, temporary, and expeditious procedure for the appointment of teachers in schools where service has been irregular until December 31, 2025. These educators must meet a series of physical, professional, and moral requirements to be considered eligible by the Meduca evaluation committees, whose decision should take no more than three days. “The process is transparent, effective, and legally viable in accordance with the Organic Law on Education, the Political Constitution, and our regulations,” Herrera told this outlet. Teachers’ unions met yesterday, Wednesday, with the president of the National Assembly’s Labor, Health, and Social Development Committee, Alaín Cedeño, to present their proposed amendments to approximately 30 articles of the social security reform law.
