Translated by Jesús Ronquillo / Circuito Frontera
Seven weeks into the school year, elementary school students still do not have free textbooks in at least half of the schools in the state of Chihuahua, according to state authorities on Monday, October 16.
Click here for the Spanish versión
However, the conflict over the delivery of textbooks dates back to previous months, when the new package of free textbooks, based on the New Mexican School, was announced.
This new approach was criticized by parents and by the government of the State of Chihuahua itself, as they considered that, in addition to the errors present in the books for the 2023-2024 school year, they have “ideological charges and promote the hypersexualization of children”.
In view of this situation, the Legal Counsel of Chihuahua filed the constitutional controversy “against the Ministry of Public Education, the National Commission of Free Textbooks, the Head of the Undersecretary of Basic Education, the Head of the General Directorate of Educational Materials, the General Directorate of Higher Education, the Head of the General Directorate of Continuous Training for Teachers and Managers, as well as the Head of the General Directorate of School Management and Territorial Approach”.
On August 11, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) admitted for processing the constitutional controversy 400/2023 filed by the Government of Chihuahua against the textbooks issued by the Ministry of Public Education (SEP).
State authorities announced through a press release the following:
“The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), granted the State of Chihuahua, the suspension of the distribution of textbooks in the basic education schools of the entity; this after the constitutional controversy promoted by Governor María Eugenia Campos against the bases of the elaboration of such materials in charge of the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) and the National Commission of Free Textbooks (Conaliteg)”.
The document referred that the decision of the Supreme Court was notified on Friday, August 11 to the State Legal Counsel, thus reinforcing the decision of the head of the Executive Power to prevent the books from being distributed in the state’s elementary schools.
The suspension of the delivery of the books was signed by Minister Luis María Aguilar, and would take effect without the need for the granting of guarantees or prejudice of modification or revocation due to any surviving event.
Likewise, the Governor of the State, María Eugenia Campos Galván, a week before ordered the Secretary of Education and Sports to stop the distribution of the bibliographic material to minors, corresponding to the 2023-2024 school cycle.
What were the reasons for the controversy promoted by the State Government?
On its official website, last August 23, the Government of the State of Chihuahua published a text entitled “Presenta Gobierno del Estado razones que motivaron Controversia Constitucional en contra de los libros de texto gratuitos”, where it points out seven reasons why it seeks to prevent the distribution of the free textbooks prepared by the Ministry of Public Education (SEP).
The controversy accepted by the SCJN resulted in the temporary suspension of the distribution of the materials throughout the state of Chihuahua.
The publication indicated that the state authorities detected more than 200 pedagogical, didactic, content and organizational errors, which led to question their delivery, in defense of the children of the state.
It also referred that “even when the subjects are contemplated in the different formative fields, they were reduced in the textbooks and diluted in the three types of projects, when they should be the basic tool to support the work of teachers and reinforce the construction of knowledge”.
As well as the following points as part of their interest in suspending the delivery of textbooks:
1.- They contain a great ideological load.
– They promote the struggle between rich and poor by demonizing personal and social development, which has been so important in our state.
– They present recent history with the interpretation of the current Federal Government, which polarizes in a logic of good versus bad.
2.- They promote the hypersexualization of children.
– We understand the relevance of sex education for children and adolescents, which has been included in textbooks for 20 years. However, these books do not respect the stages of development, presenting information and activities that can induce them to risks and confusion in their sexual life.
Sex education is relevant in Chihuahua, which is why preventive informative programs should be implemented.
3.- Inclusion is distorted and in some cases discriminated against.
– In the first grade book, they seek to teach the Braille system to children who still do not know how to read or write and inclusion is treated as content, without empathy for the other.
– In some cases they seem to promote discrimination.
4.- Parents are not taken into account in the educational process.
– In none of the programs or teachers’ books is the participation or opinions of parents foreseen, since the State is practically presented as the guardian of minors.
– In Chihuahua, mothers and fathers have always been taken into account and they have been sought to be as close as possible to the educational process of their children.
5.- Lack of methodology to teach reading and writing.
– They present a poorly articulated and inadequate exercise, because students are at the beginning of their literacy.
– One of their basic principles for teaching reading and writing is to avoid working with the alphabet in isolation.
– Reading materials of classic authors disappeared, which impedes practice and limits reading resources and access to universal literature.
6.- Lack of methodology for teaching mathematics
– In these books, for every five social topics there is only one on mathematics.
– There are errors in its approach, it is full of definitions, problems and exercises to be solved are missing.
7.- They were not elaborated based on what is established by the Law and the participation of teachers and specialists was disregarded.
– The materials were made without plans and without testing their contents with children and adolescents.
– The books should begin their implementation in first grade as a test and then make the necessary adjustments. However, they opted to change all the books without publishing the Curriculum.
– By law, textbooks must be developed with the participation of parents, teachers, civil society representatives and specialists.
– The SEP only invited a few teachers, without taking into account all teachers.
SCJN dismisses constitutional controversy
It should be recalled that at the beginning of September, hundreds of citizens in various municipalities of Chihuahua marched to demand that the governor deliver the textbooks to the students of the state, since the 2023-2024 school year began on August 28.
Six weeks before the beginning of the school year, on October 4, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation dismissed the constitutional controversy filed by the government of Chihuahua, as it considered it to be out of order.
However, the problem did not end there, since the textbooks were still not distributed in the schools of the state of Chihuahua.
On October 11, state authorities announced that, as a result of two amparo suits filed by the Human Rights Clinic and the State Association of Parents, the temporary suspension of the delivery of textbooks would be maintained until the situation was definitively resolved in a hearing scheduled for October 13.
Por orden del Tribunal, detendremos la distribución de libros de texto gratuitos; La suspensión es provisional hasta que se resuelva si debe ser definitiva en la audiencia incidental programada para el 13 de octubre. pic.twitter.com/4xqMg7ihil
— Gobierno Chihuahua (@GobiernoEdoChih) October 11, 2023
The teachers’ demand
That same Friday, October 13, teachers in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua demonstrated outside the Judicial Power’s facilities to demand the resumption of the delivery of free textbooks, which was suspended (again) by a judge.
The leader of the eighth section of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), Eduardo Zendejas, declared that it was unfair that the interests of a few should affect all the children of Chihuahua, and demanded the immediate delivery of the books.
He stated that the members of the parents’ associations surely have their children in private schools where the books are bought for them, but that they should think of the children who do not have the opportunity to study in these paying schools.
While in Ciudad Juarez, hundreds of teachers closed Tecnologico Avenue since 8:00 a.m. and stationed themselves in front of the Federal Judiciary with the same claim.
He also called on parents and teachers in the state to join the work stoppage on Monday, October 16, due to the lack of textbooks in the classrooms.
Eduardo Zendejas, leader of the eighth section of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), told Taken from Facebook from the official SNTE section 8 page.
He indicated that the impact of the lack of textbooks is for around 725,000 children and adolescents in the state of Chihuahua, of which between 280 and 300,000 correspond to Ciudad Juarez.
He mentioned that as education workers they refuse to participate in such decisions on the part of the State, which has refused to deliver the books.
The leader of the teachers’ union of the eighth section stated that this is a violation of the rights of children to the thousands of children in Chihuahua, since they lack the elements to continue with their studies in an adequate manner, according to what the school program dictates.
The union leader emphasized the urgent need to resolve this situation, since there is a risk of losing the validity of the school cycles and of not having the necessary educational materials. Frontera that the call
According to Zendejas, the urgency lies in the need to have the materials that allow teachers to grade and evaluate the progress of students in accordance with the formative fields of the new educational model.
As for the duration of the work stoppage, Zendejas explained that the measure will be maintained until the problem is resolved and the textbooks are delivered, so the work stoppage continued this Tuesday, October 17.
What do the educational authorities say?
In a press conference on Monday morning, October 16, the Undersecretary of Education in Ciudad Juarez, Maurilio Fuentes, assured that in Ciudad Juarez more than 52 percent of the free textbooks were delivered.
He urged the schools that already have the textbooks to work with the didactic material.
He also pointed out that they agreed with the teachers to return to the classrooms to avoid administrative problems, although this would be useless if they do not attend to the students.
Classes resume in Chihuahua
On Tuesday, Eduardo Zendejas, leader of the eighth section of the union, told Circuito Frontera that they held a meeting at 6:30 in the afternoon with State Government authorities to discuss this situation.
During the night, SNTE members of the eighth and 42nd sections informed that they ended the work stoppage for Wednesday, October 18, after the state authorities agreed to distribute the free books in the state of Chihuahua.
“We inform all and all of you that we have taken a big step in the defense of public education in our state. #OrgulloSNTE #SNTE #SNTE #SECCIÓN8 #TanGrandesChihuahua,” it was stated.
Here is the official catalog of free textbooks