A new Education Delegate was appointed at the last Junta de Andalucía government meeting, which took place last week in Seville, substituting for José Nieto, who has been heading this delegation since July 2002. The new delegate is Antonio Escámez, a former secondary school principal and well-known educational innovator, remembered also for having been the victim of an attack in his school by the brother of a pupil who had been expelled. The incident took place while Escámez was principal of the Torre de Prado secondary school in Campinillas.

The case was initially heard in a so-called ‘rapid court’ as a minor offence, but the decision was subsequently challenged by the public prosecutor, who insisted that the man in question should be prosecuted for aggression towards a public official. When the new Education Delegate heard of his new appointment, he was aware, he said, that the aggression case would surface once more in the media.

Escámez, however, is anxious to put the unfortunate incident behind him and looks forward to taking up his new political post. All parties agree that this is an excellent appointment, given the curriculum of the man who will head the Education Delegation over the years to come.

Methods

He is best known for his use of educational methods that relate to the young people of our time, considered highly innovative by most of his colleagues in the teaching profession. Along with a group of similar-minded teachers, he founded The Campanillas Blues Band, aimed at teaching a sense of values through rock, blues and jazz with new versions of songs by singers like Eric Clapton and groups like the Doobie Brothers. The lyrics of these songs deal with the problems of young people all over the world, including Andalucía, from boredom in the classroom to drug addiction and other serious issues. Escámez plays the drums in the band, and the project was awarded the Educational Merit Prize in the province of Malaga in 2006 and in Andalucía in 2008. The band has given more than a hundred concerts in Malaga and other Andalusian provinces in recent years. Antonio Escámez says he will not be leaving the band as a result of his new appointment.

Up to now he has been teaching Biology in the Manuel Alcántara Secondary School in the Trinidad-Perchel area of the city of Seville.

Antonio Escámez also connects with the young through new technologies such as the internet and mobile phones, and was awarded the Mouse Prize for educational advancement through the Internet in 2006. As far as his ambitions for his new position are concerned, he says he aims to improve the educational system from the ground up, relying to a large extent on his own experience as a teacher and school principal.

Other awards include a second prize for the best education page on the Internet in Andalucía, and the Silver Medal of the Andalusian Arts Centre, and he is also responsible for setting up the Torre del Prado secondary school library

“I am looking forward enormously to taking up this position,” says the energetic and innovative new Education Delegate for the province of Malaga.