After 80 days of Teacher Strikes Panamanian Students Return to Classes – Teachers Return with a Taste of Defeat

A significant group of students returned to classes this Monday, July 14th, after teachers’ unions signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education (Meduca) on Friday the 11th to resume the school year, following more than 80 days of strikes. The national education system is returning to normal amid high expectations and commitment from students, teachers, and authorities.  At the General Cerro Tigre Basic Education Center, located in Arraiján, West Panama, several elementary school students also returned to their classrooms after a long period without classes. A fourth-grade student shared her experience after more than two months of interruption in the school year. “When they told us there would be no classes for so long, I felt sad and a little lost.” At this school, only two teachers remained on strike, as most had already returned after calls from the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA).

Teachers Return to Classes with a Taste of Defeat after a Strike without any Achievements

The teachers who have been on strike since April 23, 2025, return to the classrooms today, Monday, July 14, but they do so with the bitter taste of not having achieved their goals after more than 80 days of struggle. This is the second-longest strike in Panama’s education sector, surpassed only by the historic 1979 strike, which lasted three months.  Despite the signing of the agreement with the Ministry of Education (Meduca), union representatives are aware that they have achieved nothing significant. After the signing of the pact, Edy Pinto, general secretary of the San Miguelito Educators Association (Edusam), made it clear that his signature was taken with reservations. “I signed this settlement, not entirely in agreement, because I wanted everyone to start on Monday,” he said.

Teachers are returning to classes after more than 80 days of strike action, without achieving their key objectives, such as the repeal of Law 462 and the end of the strike. Union divisions persist, while students are the most affected by the disruption to school.

Educators Return with Determination but Without Money – ‘Hard’ Strike without Victory say the Union Leaders

Although teachers’ unions signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA), the return to classes has been uneven and marked by sanctions, non-payment, and legal warnings. After 81 days of strikes, hundreds of teachers returned to the classrooms this Monday, July 14th, after the teachers’ unions signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education (Meduca). The protest, called since April 23rd to reject the controversial Law 462—which reformed the Social Security pension system—became one of the longest-running conflicts in the education sector in the country’s recent history.  “This isn’t a lack of will. It’s an economic and political punishment,” stated union leaders, who also admitted that the agreement reached with the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) failed to meet the movement’s initial objectives. Even so, they defended the pact as a necessary solution to avoid further sanctions, guarantee a safe return to the classroom, and maintain unity among educators.