The Ministry of Education has decided to suspend all classes in schools and high schools in the Canary Islands from tomorrow (Wednesday) for the rest of the week due to the heatwave sweeping across the islands.
Preschool, primary, and secondary schools will remain closed until next Monday in anticipation of the high temperatures forecast by AMET and on the advice of the Ministry of Health. Universities will be able to decide themselves whether to hold classes or not.
The Minister of Education for the Canary Islands, Poli Suárez, announced the suspension of classes in a statement to the media. She also informed that they are in the process of developing a protocol, which was previously non-existent in the Canary Islands, for dealing with high temperatures in collaboration with the Department of Security and Emergencies, Public Health, and the Ministry of Education to determine how to respond to the heatwaves.
Furthermore, the minister emphasized that this decision was made "out of responsibility and after many hours of work and analysis" because the situation in many educational centres in the Canary Islands had become "untenable" due to the heatwave affecting both students and teachers.
Regarding the possibility of returning to online classes, as was done during lockdown, Suárez admitted that it is a "complicated" thing to implement, and therefore stressed the importance of having a protocol for high temperatures in the next few days or weeks so they know how to handle these situations, which "are here to stay."
He also said that most of the educational buildings in the Canary Islands do not meet the necessary conditions to combat high temperatures in the classrooms. Hence, he called on Fecam and Fecai to try to find a solution and improve these infrastructures in the islands.
