El Ciudadano
Original article: «La educación chilena está muy amenazada»: Profesores junto a gremios, asociaciones y sindicatos en caminata hacia el Congreso desde Santiago
With a call to respect the right to mobilize and walk freely, on Sunday, September 6, a three-day march to Valparaíso commenced, led by associations, unions, and the Colegio de Profesoras y Profesores de Chile.
The purpose of this mobilization is to reach the National Congress «to assert and raise our voices strongly in defense of Chilean education, which is under severe threat, particularly due to the significant budget cuts being proposed,» stated Mario Aguilar, the national president of the teachers’ union.
Aguilar emphasized that «we are aware of the enormous shortcomings that the educational system faces, from early childhood education to higher education, including school systems and the institutions responsible for ensuring the proper functioning of education, which are severely restricted.»
«Therefore, our march serves as a warning to the public that all of us who inhabit this territory, this Chilean land, must defend education from the threats of increased commercialization. We must protect it from those who wish to turn it into a business again, who want education to become a consumer good rather than a social right,» Aguilar added.
The union leader detailed that «this is why we will march for these three days,» denouncing the «hostile attitude of the Valparaíso presidential delegation that aims to prevent us from walking along Santos Ossa Avenue to the National Congress on the last day, which is absurd.»
«We, of course, announce that we will assert our right to peaceful protest, as we will carry out. We have always held marches under various governments, and until now, we had never been prohibited from walking that avenue, which is the main entrance to Valparaíso and holds significant symbolism,» questioned the educator, indicating that government authorities «aim to make us invisible, which is absolutely unacceptable.»
Highlighting Unity
From the Asociación Nacional de Funcionarios del Ministerio de Educación de Chile (Andime), its president, María Beatriz Fuenzalida, commented that what is being «visualized today is a tremendous gesture of unity, as the Colegio de Profesores has come together with all the public services working in education.»
«It is a tremendous gesture of unity, an interesting milestone, and we must inform the public that in over 40 years, no government administration has dealt such a harsh blow to the State of Chile and its public officials. Therefore, we march for every colleague working in the educational system,» the union leader stated.
«We are doing our job and also defending you, Chilean citizen, all of Chile, and your children so they can have a quality education,» added Andime’s representative.
Meanwhile, Yasna Sánchez Rubio from the Federación Nacional de Organizaciones de Asistentes de la Educación Pública de Chile (Aefen) highlighted that «we know what happens in the community and are also aware of the little consciousness about the dangers facing educational assistants, including our jobs.»
«I also want to address our parents to raise awareness about what is happening today. Never before has public education been so threatened as it is now. We must call for unity, to raise consciousness among everyone in the community. This march is for the people, for the citizens, to realize what is happening and that this is just the beginning,» warned the leader.
Finally, Javier Ovando from the Asociación Nacional de Funcionarias y Funcionarios de la Superintendencia de Educación (Asume) stated, «we march for better education, for more resources, for the careers of public servants, for parents, guardians, teachers, for the educational assistants, and for our children nationwide.»
«We must raise awareness that education is what moves a country, and today, with this march called by education unions, they do not want to let us march toward Valparaíso. We will have to double our efforts to also raise awareness within this State and government, where scarce resources are being taken from us. We must stand united,» concluded Javier Ovando.
We will continue to provide updates.
La entrada Chilean Educators Unite in March to Congress: A Call to Defend Education Against Threats se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.
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