The first students returned to school on Thursday amid very different rules and regulations because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Education Minister, Martí March has explained the main measures and the numbers for the new academic year.
Students and teachers
There are 170,369 students and 16,340 teachers at 424 Educational Centres in the Balearic Islands.
There are 118 new students this year, whereas there’s normally around 2,000. Martí March says this is due to the fact that fewer families have come from overseas to work in the Islands and many of those who were living here have returned to their own countries because of the economic crisis caused by coronavirus.
Space
67 centres will have extra space available in Municipal buildings, such as Sports Centres, Libraries, Municipal Centres and old Schools and some public squares have also been enabled. More space has been obtained from private entities, such as Parish Centres and Hotels and schools are making the most of the spaces they already have.
Modular classrooms
The Department of Education has also installed 24 specific modular classrooms to meet the 20 students ratio which was established as a benchmark to comply with social distancing rules and prevent Covid-19 contagion.
15 of the 24 prefabricated classrooms are in Majorca and 9 are in Ibiza.
Altogether there are 119 modular classrooms in the Balearic Islands and the Department of Education admits that in reality the average classroom ratio is 23 students.
Teachers
300 teachers who are vulnerable to coronavirus have been withdrawn; 168 of them are pregnant.
Some teachers in Palma and the Part Forana have tested positive for coronavirus and are in quarantine.