The Spanish government will not change the law to prevent cases like that of Miquel Roldán.
The Son Sardina school remains empty in protest, and parents have not taken their children to school for the second day in a row.
PalmThe Minister of Education and Universities, Antoni Vera, has explained that the Spanish government does not plan legislative changes to prevent a professor convicted of harassing a former student from practicing. This controversy arises after the problems experienced in the Maria Antònia Salvà school (Son Sardina)where Miquel RoldánHe has a temporary position and parents have refused to bring their children as a symbol of protest.
According to Vera, last February (when a similar controversy involving the same teacher had already occurred at CEIP Gabriel Janer in Manila), he sent letters to the Ministries of Youth and Childhood, Education and Vocational Training, Finance and Civil Service, and Labor and Social Economy to explain the situation and request changes to the law. So far, as the minister explained in a press conference, he has only received a response from the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, and Sports, who assured him that none of the requested changes were contemplated.
Specifically, the Ministry of Education requested an expansion of the offenses included in the Law on the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents from Violence to define the requirements for access to professions, trades, or activities that involve regular contact with minors. In its response, the Ministry headed by Pilar Alegría asserts that it shares the "seriousness" of the matter and understands the concerns of the educational community and families, but does not propose any changes or modifications to resolve the matter.
Thus, he points out that the sentence does not contemplate a penalty of disqualification from practicing professions with minors and, consequently, current legislation "does not allow measures to be adopted that prevent the teacher from continuing his professional activity at this time."
However, Antoni Vera has detailed that the Ministry of Education has committed to studying these types of situations "with the utmost rigor," prioritizing the protection of underage students.
The Ministry of Education cannot disqualify him.
The minister emphasized that the Regional Ministry "has no authority" to disqualify the teacher and that "the only thing it can do" is implement preventive measures, as was done last year at another school. He noted that the convicted teacher is always accompanied by another teacher in the classroom, that he does not have tutoring duties, and that the Education Inspectorate visits the school every two days.
Vera also pointed out that when the ruling was issued, the Regional Attorney's Office requested the judge to disqualify him from teaching, but was denied.
Furthermore, due to the families' concerns, the Regional Ministry activated the joint committee on occupational risk prevention, where the specific case was discussed, but the absolute majority necessary to act was not obtained. "Our hands are tied because if, on the one hand, the negotiating committee doesn't support us, and on the other, the courts tell us we can't disqualify, we have no other options," the minister explained.
It must be remembered that the CEIP Maria Antònia Salvà remains empty as a protest, and parents have already announced that they will not take their children to school this Friday either. The solution that the Ministry of Education gave last year when the case broke out at the CEIP Gabriel Janer and Manila was hiring another teacher who "watched" Roldán during his class time with the minors.
The parents of the Son Sardina school, however, have stated that they are "not satisfied" with this action and do not want Miquel Roldán to continue teaching. In fact, in a letter they sent to the Regional Ministry to report the teacher's presence, they asserted that their children have "the right to grow and learn in a protected and risk-free environment." They also added that there are "sufficient" criminal records that would make his teaching work incompatible, and emphasized that they consider it "unacceptable" for someone with this history to be in daily contact with minors in a classroom.