Parents, students and teachers protested at the school on Monday 15 May. Josele

Three hundred parents and pupils demand more staff for Marbella secondary school

Malaga’s education office has responded to complaints from the Guadaiza de San Pedro Alcántara school's parent-teacher association

David Lerma

Marbella

Wednesday, 17 May 2023, 16:18

Around three hundred pupils and representatives of the parent-teacher association (AMPA) from Guadaiza de San Pedro Alcántara secondary school organised a protest on Monday during break time to demand more administrative professionals for the educational centre.

"They are protesting because we have been without administrative staff for most of the year, especially in the secretary's office," said Antonio Casares, a teacher and member of the parents' association, whose children also study at the school.

"We only have one caretaker, when in fact we [should] have two. In fact, the one we have should have already taken early retirement, but Remedios cannot because she has been told by [the regional education department] that she will not be able to do so until the service is covered. We have been without anyone for a few weeks now. We don't have a caretaker and we don't have an administrative assistant", Casaras explained.

Procedures

Under normal circumstances, there are two caretakers and one administrator. "Two people are missing. Every two weeks we have sent a letter to tell them that we are in an untenable situation, but they tell us that these things have a process and cannot be accelerated. They say that it is a vacancy and that it can only be filled through a specific procedure. I don't know how it works", said Casares. "It makes me feel impotent that the administration has a problem and doesn't know how to solve it quickly," he added.

During April the caretaker's service was full, after months of asking the Junta de Andalucía for a new member of staff. "They sent a man to fill the position, but he resigned for personal reasons after two weeks," Casares explained, saying that he believed the position would be filled again. “On the first occasion it took ten months. Do we expect to wait another ten months?" he asked.

For now Casares said, "Many teachers are lending a hand as best they can.” In addition, the students AMPA, members of the school council decided to take action on Monday.

SUR has asked Malaga’s education office about the issue and received a reply that said: "In relation to the lack of staff at Guadaiza, the education development office informs that the administrative post will be filled on 1 June. Likewise, work is being carried out to fill the post of caretaker as soon as possible.”