The teachers and students of the IES Menéndez Pelayo, in Getafe, are suffering these days from the effects of the drop in temperatures in the Community of Madrid due to the lack of heating in one of the center’s buildings, the old IES Silverio Lanza. This building, which was built more than 50 years ago with “provisional” materials – that is, barracks – has very poor thermal insulation, the teachers say, which further aggravates the situation.
The diesel boiler, which had not been changed since the center was founded, was renovated this summer, but the installation works were extended until the month of November, sources from the center say. Since then, the Territorial Area Directorate, which depends on the Department of Education of the Community of Madrid, has been in charge of coordinating the connection to the gas supply with the supply company that corresponds to the center. But at the moment it has not been resolved, and the drop in temperatures recorded this week is being noticed in the classes.
As winter progresses, conditions at the center, which has more than a thousand students, have become increasingly unsustainable. The temperatures in the classrooms are extremely low. On this Friday morning it was 12ºC at 08:00, before the first hour. Two hours later, with the effect of the human warmth of students and teachers, it had risen to 14º at 10:00. Throughout the morning, the atmosphere warms up slightly, and with luck it reaches 17 degrees, the legal minimum for working in educational centers.
“They teach with coats, gloves and they even bring blankets. Even I myself have brought blankets from my house to give to the children,” says a teacher at the center. Between the cold and the fact that they spend most of the morning sitting, students and teachers are left chilled, he adds.
The Community of Madrid has responded to the problem and assures that the boiler is new, and that the process of channeling the gas so that it can enter service, which depends on the City Council, has been delayed. However, they maintain that all that is left is a visit from the gas company’s technician for the system to come into operation in the coming days.
Although the delay in supplies is attributed to human error, teachers say, the work should have been done in advance. Although teachers and students understand that there are certain administrative procedures that have complicated the situation, they do not understand why they are not offered a provisional solution while the problem is resolved. “Let them bring us a radiator, heaters, whatever,” this teacher concludes.
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