Section 22 of the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) presented this Tuesday an alternative school calendar under which the democratic teachers’ movement will operate during the 2026–2027 school year. The calendar consists of 200 working days and will begin on August 24, seven days earlier than the date established by the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP).
The work program is part of the Plan for the Transformation of Education in Oaxaca (PTEO). Yenny Aracely Pérez Martínez, general secretary of the section, stated that continuing educational work responsibly through an alternative education model is especially important for the organization. As part of this effort, the State Workshop on Alternative Education is being conducted.
She explained that the calendar already takes into account possible teacher mobilizations that could take place during the school year. The union leader defended the teachers’ movement and questioned why the media criticize teachers for organizing protests rather than questioning the government for failing to comply with previously established agreements.
She added that teachers have educational, political, administrative, and justice-related demands, which are presented year after year. Despite commitments made by both the federal and state governments, these demands are often never fully addressed or are only partially fulfilled.
One example is the funding allocated for the purchase of school uniforms, a program that has outstanding payments dating back to the 2024–2025 school year. According to Pérez Martínez, it remains unclear whether those funds were retained by the government of Salomón Jara or by the federal government.
In this regard, she stated that if the state and federal governments fulfilled all the demands presented by teachers and addressed the educational backlog during the upcoming school year, Section 22 would have no need to take to the streets to protest.
She reiterated that the demands presented since May as part of the teachers’ protest campaign will once again be brought before President Claudia Sheinbaum at the meeting scheduled for August 13. She emphasized that, in many cases, the agreements contained in official minutes have not been fulfilled.
“Despite commitments made by the state and federal governments, the funds for school uniforms from the previous school year have not been distributed,” she stated.
Source: jornada
