The institute in Plentzia has become a "real powder keg" this academic year, according to its own teachers, who declare themselves "fed up" with the climate of incivility and disrespect in the classrooms. The situation extends beyond the well-known case of a teacher being harassed at her home every Halloween night, when dozens of students gather to intimidate her and throw objects at her facade. Other teachers have reported frequent insults and disrespect, and they criticize the lack of support from both the Basque Government and the local educational community, starting with the center's management. They also state that they receive "no support" from families.
The teachers, who have demonstrated in recent weeks, find it particularly egregious that one educator was sanctioned "without employment and salary for two months" for making public, in a "mobile phone status," the lack of support teachers received when facing aggression. She had been insulted by a student. Although she did not reveal specific details, the center understood that the publication identified the institute because it was known she worked there.
Union sources indicate that "there are more cases of reprimands and attempts to silence what is happening." They add that the Education Inspectorate has visited on several occasions this year, but "no formal proceedings have been opened, and therefore, the events are not officially recorded or disclosed," fueling fears that "something serious will happen one day." They believe it did little good that the harassment a teacher had suffered for at least eight years, as revealed by this newspaper in November, became public. Students insulted her, and every Halloween night, they threw "eggs, oranges, toilet paper rolls" and "even stones" against her home's windows in what has become a "kind of ritual." Last year, at least fifty teenagers participated in the attack, leading to a report filed with the Ertzaintza and "punitive" measures such as the suspension of trips and extracurricular activities. The atmosphere remains agitated, although there has been some "de-escalation" coinciding with the end of the academic year. Previously, the center had initiated 23 internal proceedings against students, but they were not sent to Education.
The teachers' exhaustion is such that they have held several gatherings in recent weeks. "This led to nothing," they state. The banner they carried read the slogan 'Education does not protect us.' They denounced the "abandonment" because they believe that "there are increasingly more acts of disrespect from students, and in the end, what happens is that teachers are the ones who face proceedings."
After the years of harassment against the teacher were revealed, the Department of Education conducted a psychosocial risk assessment, which has not satisfied the educators. "It was done online. Given the problem we had, they should have at least come here. They wanted to get rid of it quickly, and this is an issue that affects the entire community and society," affirm the teachers. Spokespersons for CC OO state that "there is tension and various elements converge that contaminate the entire environment: the teaching staff complains of tension, of a complex environment in which to teach... and Education only complies superficially. In other centers, the assessments have been different, more open."
From LAB, they add that "in recent times, an increase in attacks against teaching staff is being evidenced, a trend that is consolidating and becoming more frequent." They lament that the department "does not allocate sufficient resources to manage these situations, which causes everything to worsen."
The last few years have been turbulent at the center, which serves students from Plentzia and Gorliz, as well as from nearby towns like Sopela that lack Secondary Education. Municipal sources acknowledge that "it has become too small for so many students."
Teachers are not the only ones in the line of fire. Last year, female students from 3rd and 4th year of ESO reported "offensive, sexist, and homophobic messages." A group of six or seven youngsters used other students' computers to send messages via WhatsApp and email. Nearly a hundred students gathered to denounce what happened and "the lack of involvement from the management team." The students claimed that the management had told them they "could not act because the perpetrators were not identified." It was days later, when the messages were directed at a teacher, that the institute's officials intervened. The Basque Department of Education was forced to launch an investigation to ascertain the extent of the attacks.
