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| Governors Ángel Aguirre of Guerrero and Gabino Cué of Oaxaca |
Aristegui Noticias: This week, Gabino Cué and Ángel Aguirre presented alternative initiatives to federal reform in education. Both explained their projects and the teachers' demands in their states in interviews with Carmen Aristegui on MVS News.
This week, the governors of Oaxaca and Guerrero presented to their local congresses alternative proposals to the federal government's educational reform, approved by the federal Congress. The circumstances under which presented their proposals are different.
The governor of Oaxaca, Gabino Cué, on Tuesday, April 2, presented an alternate proposal to amend the Education Act. He denied that his project is a "counter-reform" that challenges the federal education reform.
Cué was interviewed on Tuesday morning by Carmen Aristegui on MVS News First Edition broadcast. In the interview he said that his proposal was not intended to "create privileges", or circumvent the teachers' overall assessment, as required by the federal reform.
"The information that was generated has been misinterpreted. No one can be against the Constitution; we would be subject to impeachment if that were so," he said.Cué forward a Plan for Transforming Education (PTEO) that would be a "secondary law" to the content of the federal education reform. His plan proposes to
"tropicalize" the federal reform, adapting it to the "social, geographic, political and economic conditions of each state."He explained that historically the relationship of teachers in Oaxaca (Section 22) with the federal Secretariat of Public Education has been complex, and because of this, he announced he would seek
"federal educational reform that does not violate the labor rights of teachers."
The governor of Oaxaca said that neither the his government nor that of Guerrero are contradicting the logic of the federal government initiative, but he insisted that it can be enriched.
On Tuesday, the education reform alternative proposal made by Governor Cué was rejected by Section 22 of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE).
The Guerrero proposal
On Tuesday, the education reform alternative proposal made by Governor Cué was rejected by Section 22 of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE).
The Guerrero proposal
In the state of Guerrero, the dissident teachers sent an educational reform initiative to Congress, through the governor, Angel Aguirre Rivero. The initiative was rejected by a majority in the state legislature.
The governor, Angel Aguirre, spoke on the matter on Thursday, April 4, with Carmen Aristegui, on MVS News.
He acknowledged that he signed and submitted the proposal that was rejected by the Congress of the entity, but also admitted that he "was not in agreement with it".
He said the bill submitted by the State Coordinating Committee of Education Workers in Guerrero (CETEG), raised three points that he believes were not feasible: the creation of an independent state institute for evaluation of teachers, ensuring access to a teaching position for all graduates of the seven state teachers colleges, and spending 8 percent of the GDP of the state on the budget allocated for education.
In both interviews, Governors Cué and Aguirre agreed that the result of teacher evaluation should not be linked to the permanence of the teachers in their jobs. That is, they should not be fired if they don't pass the test. Both argued that one can't evaluate teachers living and working in different conditions [in the south] in the same manner as those living in the center and north country.
[MV Note: The tropical south of Mexico is the poorest region, with the highest percentage of indigenous peoples.]