School, Ministry: full support for the Apulian school community Puglia Region withdraws or corrects ordinance Education is not an individual demand service
Numerous reports are being received by the Ministry of Education from the Apulian school community and families who show confusion and disorientation with respect to some contents of the ordinance issued by the Region and the different rulings by the Apulian administrative judge in recent days.
In the next few hours, as part of the exercise of the usual canons of loyal cooperation between institutions, the Ministry of Education will formalize a request for withdrawal or revision of the regional ordinance that takes into account the provisions, with great clarity, of the Dpcm of last November 3 for the so-called 'orange' areas, including Puglia, to protect the right to education of students from Puglia, school autonomy, as well as the principles that are the basis of the National Education System.
The goal is to avoid an unsustainable conflict between schools and families, fueled by indications that encourage unilateral choices by the latter on the activation of distance learning. A modality that risks constituting an interruption of that dialogue and that search for shared solutions on which the school community itself has always been based, as well as transforming education into a demand service, which is not and cannot be , especially in the range of obligations. To say it is the Constitution, which does not provide for an indiscriminate and dangerous regionalization of the education system.
Then there is the need to preserve the autonomy of educational institutions from interventions of dubious legitimacy and congruity provided for by the ordinance.
The sharing of all the data that motivated the regional decision will also be requested, together with a report on the interventions carried out by the competent health and local authorities for an adequate overall organization of the new school year, according to the indications contained in the so-called "Plan school ”, approved in June also by the Regions, including Puglia. Report which must also contain a precise indication of the initiatives implemented to ensure efficient ways of organizing local transport related to the needs of reopening schools, the use of allocated resources and the current planning activities in view of the future return to school also of female students and secondary school students.
Meanwhile, the Ministry recalls that this year more than 510 million euros have already been allocated to Apulian schools, including building funds and emergency resources, and it does so in response to the words spoken by President Michele Emiliano towards of the school system and, in particular, of the Ministry itself, accused of not having prepared themselves sufficiently for the restart and for the possible use of digital teaching, including distance learning. Words that do not do justice to the great work carried out so far by teachers, school leaders, school staff, everything including the officials and managers of the Ministry and the Regional School Office for Puglia, who this summer have worked tirelessly for a safe return and also to prepare the school system for the eventual return to digital distance learning.
To testify this commitment there are not only the numerous regional tables that have taken place in recent months, but also all the documentation produced, including the Guidelines for integrated digital teaching provided to schools already in August and to be able to use it, in a complementary way. , since September, in secondary school institutions of the second degree, both to face a possible return to distance learning.
Looking at the data:
- Over 47,5 million have been allocated for digital teaching in Apulian schools for investments in platforms, staff training, for the purchase of tablets, PCs, connections, digital kits for less well-off students and more.
- The need for about 20.000 digital devices and tools for students in difficulty registered in Puglia for distance learning has been met: thanks to national resources and the PON, 27.634 have already been purchased to date. And more resources are on the way.
- Over 24 million have been assigned to schools in Puglia for the restart, through the “Relaunch” decree. Funds that made it possible to equip school buildings with sanitizers, signage, to carry out small maintenance interventions, to purchase additional digital tools for the classrooms.
- Another 3 million had already been previously assigned with the Cura Italia decree, to ensure suitable hygienic and sanitary conditions of the premises and protective and personal hygiene devices for the entire school community, even during the second cycle State Exams.
- There are 155.439 new single-seat desks, 45.269 innovative seats for schools in Puglia.
- Also for the emergency and the restart, over 152 million have been assigned to Puglia to hire additional temporary staff between Ata and teachers.
- Almost 34 million have been assigned to local authorities for light building interventions, rent of additional spaces for emergencies and for their adaptation to use for teaching. Resources that add up to the more than 234 million allocated this year to the Region and to the local authorities for school buildings, understood as extraordinary maintenance, safety plans, fire prevention, floor surveys.
The Ministry is monitoring the spending on funds for light construction by local authorities. In Puglia, 61,94% of the allocated resources of the total have been spent to date. As for the resources for rentals, rentals and space adaptation, only 42% of the local authorities benefiting from the Puglia Region that have been authorized have activated rental and rental contracts to date to guarantee the distancing imposed by the Covid emergency.
The preparation of the school system was long and accompanied by significant funding. The Ministry supports schools and supports families, female students and students, to guarantee each and every one the fundamental right to education, to be protected also with respect to any form of possible arbitrariness.