Parents say public schools in Cuenca are ‘falling apart’ and demand government intervention

Parents of Cuenca school children are demanding immediate government action to repair and remodel schools. “Our children sit in classrooms that have ceilings falling in and bathrooms that have not worked for years,” said Ramiro Diaz, the father of two children who attend El Valle schools in southeast Cuenca. “How can they learn when they are moved from one classroom to the other because of falling masonry and stand in long lines for the bathroom?”

Repairs to the historic Colegio Benigno Malo on Av. Solano have been delayed for years, according to the school’s parents and alumni.

The parents delivered their complaints to the Education Ministry Thursday claiming that promises of repairs and upgrades to schools have gone unmet. The parents said that the city of Cuenca will make a contribution to the repair fund but must get approval and coordinate with the national government.

In comments to Radio Cuenca, Diaz questioned government priority of fighting criminal gangs. “This is necessary but not at the expense of neglecting the education of our children,” he said. “This and other governments have ignored the schools for years and allowed the facilities to fall into disrepair. Why can’t they understand the importance of education for the future? Schools and books are just as important as prisons, guns and tear gas.”

In another complaint, parents and alumni of the Colegio Benigno Malo on Av. Solano are expressing anger at the deterioration of the hundred-year-old high school. As in the case with other schools, they say the municipal government has offered to pay for a share of the work but is awaiting additional funds and approval from the Ministry of Education.

Andrés Tola, president of the Benigno Malo alumni association, says structural problems at the school have existed for years and despite multiple promises that funding was forthcoming, little has happened. “Over the past 10 years with three governments, we have heard that help is on the way and that money has been set aside,” he says. “Then, we ask why the repairs are not happening they tell us they ran out of money.”

According to Tola, a comprehensive plan for repairs and upgrades prepared by the University of Cuenca was delivered and accepted years ago. “The study determined that comprehensive repair and reconstruction would cost $9 million and the government agreed to carry out the work. That was six years ago and the building continues to deteriorate.”

Education Ministry zone 6 director Marcela Villavicencio agrees that work at Benigno Malo has been delayed and blames “budget shortfalls.” She points out that some repairs have been carried out during the Noboa government, citing reconstruction of a collapsed wall last year. She said that her office is currently “collecting information” to send to the ministry headquarters in Quito. “At this time I am unable to provide a schedule of when major work will begin,” she said.

Villavicencio added that the education ministry’s budget is dependent on the release of funding from the national treasury. “The country is in a complicated financial situation and various emergencies and priorities dictate the availability of funds,” she said.