After four times postponing a meeting with legislators, the Secretary of Public Education, Define Gomezmet on the afternoon of this Thursday, April 28, with parliamentary leaders from the Chamber of Deputies, to explain the impact of the disappearance of the Full-Time Schools program.
During the work table between the head of the SEP and the members of the Political Coordination Board (Jucopo) of San Lázaro, – which was held behind closed doors -, Delfina Gómez Álvarez, requested the expansion of resources by 32 billion pesos in the Expenditure Budget of the Federation (PEF) 2023, in order to maintain the benefits of extended hours and meals of full-time schools, but now in the La Escuela es Nuestra (LEEN) program.
Announcing some details of the meeting, the SEP indicated that its owner explained that the concepts of extended hours and food are included in the La Escuela es Nuestra program, since, based on a study, the benefits of the Full-Time School Program did not reach everyone and, in some cases, , were not applied.
According to the data presented by the secretary of education, about 20 thousand schools (73%) of those served in the current school year and that are part of the Full-Time Schools Program (PETC), were not located in places with high degrees of marginalization, since just over half were rural, 30% urban and only 18% indigenous.
He explained that 14 thousand 739 provided food to one million 427 thousand children, which means that 46% did not provide the service that the instrument supposed. In addition to maintaining that there was concern about the management of resources, since there was a lot of intermediation and the benefits did not reach everyone and, in some cases, they were not applied.
While educational personnel pointed out different irregularities such as delay in payments; unjustified discounts; incomplete or late delivery of food; poor management of resources and overpricing in the purchase of inputs.
For this reason, he said that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador instructed to compensate this situation with the premise that, although all schools require support, there are some that need it more.
He also highlighted that children and adolescents who were beneficiaries of the ETCs were never left without support, who were only supported with 300 pesos per month; now, she said, they receive resources directly through a scholarship of 840 pesos per month.
THEY QUALIFY THE MEETING AS A FAILURE
The secretary of the Education Commission of Deputies, Olga Luz Espinosa Morales (PRD), described as “failure” the work meeting that Jucopo held with the head of the SEP, Delfina Gómez Álvarez, since, she said, she was unable to answer the questions of the deputies.
In statements to the press, he regretted that the official was unaware of the successful programs that the secretariat has had, such as Full-Time Schools and The School is Ours.
“Delfina Gómez came as a half-secretary, because she brought a presentation regarding the Full-Time Schools Program, how they were going to be restored, unfortunately she did not communicate anything, the program has a pedagogical base, something that the secretary was not aware of, until day of
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when he listened to the parliamentary groups”.
“They manage that they are going to recover the extended hours, but they do not tell us the mechanisms; They manage that they are going to recover the food, through the parent participation committees. We leave with more doubts, with more questions at the Full-Time Schools’ working groups”, said the also member of the Working Group on Full-Time Schools.
For her part, deputy Cynthia Iliana López Castro (PRI), secretary of the Education Commission, affirmed that the meeting with the head of the SEP was “a vacillation.”
He affirmed that the federal official did not give an answer to the issue of the disappearance of the Full Time Schools, and questioned that the meeting was held behind closed doors and scheduled at the same time as the last plenary session.
“This appearance is hesitant. We are only 13 deputies. It is not broadcast on Open Parliament. No Mexican is finding out about this. Not all the deputies of the Education Commission are here. (The official) just came to give a very careful message, and there is no answer about the disappearance of the Full Time Schools, ”she said.
Prior to the meeting, deputy López Castro demonstrated with mothers and fathers, outside Jucopo, to demand the reinstatement of the Full Time Schools program.