Arroyito school protests yield results with mobile classrooms, repair promises

Parents and students at the Colegio Nacional “Pablo Emiliano Quevedo” in Arroyito, Paraguay, have secured promises for improved facilities after three weeks of protests. The demonstrations centered on the dangerous condition of the school's existing classrooms, which are nearly 40 years old and at risk of collapse.

For three weeks, parents and students blocked the PY05 highway, demanding the construction of two new classrooms. Despite previous meetings with educational authorities and the Concepción governor's office, proposals were not accepted by the parents, who insisted on new construction due to the severe state of the current buildings.

This week, the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC) began installing two mobile classrooms on the school grounds. Currently, the 75 students continue to attend classes outdoors or under trees while awaiting the completion of the mobile units. The school is located in the Arroyo de Oro community, 91 kilometers east of the departmental capital.

In addition to the mobile classrooms, parents received a promise that the institution will benefit from the MEC's TAPE program (Tejiendo Apoyos para la Excelencia Educativa). This program is set to provide 140 million Paraguayan guaranis for the repair of the two existing, dilapidated classrooms. Following this commitment, the protesting parents have declared a 15-day truce to allow for the legal processing of the funds and the contracting of the repair firm. They have warned that they will resume their road blockades if the promised repairs do not materialize.