The lack of air conditioning in the schools of Son Boga and El Molí den Xema once again 'suffocates' the students

ManacorAs happened last year around this same time, the rise in temperatures and the increasingly direct incidence of the sun, are causing the problems at the Son Boga early childhood education school in Manacor to once again worry the children's families and the educational community.

The lack of a refrigeration unit in the classrooms, combined with the little foresight in planting trees or plants that could somewhat 'cool down' the thermal sensation, means that on sunny days, the classrooms become stuffy, significantly affecting the children, who have difficulty playing and especially sleeping.

But... does this thermal stress also affect the way we learn? According to Mariona Pascual, a professor at the UIB and an expert in the relationship between the brain and literacy, “creating healthier environments for educational activities, especially in a context of rising temperatures associated with climate change, helps to prevent measurable negative consequences on cognitive performance. The lack of air conditioning in a school is not a matter of comfort, but a structural problem that compromises health, well-being, and equality of educational opportunities, in the short and long term,” she states.

Last year, in a similar situation, the Department of Education already acknowledged the flawed design of the cooling system in the two public schools in Manacor in the Passeig Ferrocarril area, Son Boga and CEIP Molí den Xerra, which were built together with only the courtyards separating the two buildings.

At that time, 15 years ago, Education installed a common ventilation system for the two schools, so that the same machinery could serve both spaces. However, neither the calculations foresaw temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius that are reached in May and June, nor was a cooling system installed, but simply an air outlet system.

Project pending

According to the Ministry of Education, the drafting of the project to improve the air conditioning at Molí den Xema and Son Boga has now been put out to tender. The centers are within the first phase of the air conditioning plan, so in theory it will be one of the first to be acted upon.

It is foreseen that after the award of the project, the tendering process for the works will begin, a preliminary project with an approximate budget of 950,000 euros. Education also estimates that the works can begin during the next academic year.