The Official Diary has formalized the promulgation of the school coexistence law, an initiative promoted by the Teachers' College following the deaths of teachers Katherine Yoma in March 2024 and Albano Muñoz in June of the same year. In both cases, the professionals chose to end their lives after being victims of work-related stress, assaults, and threats from individuals in their work environment. The new regulation establishes the requirement for schools to have an educational coexistence coordinator with exclusive dedication and an appropriate professional profile.
The national president of the teachers' union, Mario Aguilar, stated that “this law provides tools that were not in the legislation, such as Article Eighth Bis of the Teacher Statute, which will be strengthened with demands for protection of safety conditions for teachers and other members of the school community. ” The approval of this new regulation, which aims to ensure safety in the entire school context, comes after a brutal knife attack by a young man that resulted in the death of inspector María Victoria Reyes in Calama. Three students were also affected, one of whom remains in serious condition at the Regional Hospital of Calama.
The teachers' union emphasized that issues of violence must be addressed with attention to mental health, with better and more comprehensive professional support teams for socio-emotional development. In this regard, Aguilar added that “we warn that this law demonstrates the need for more resources in Education, not less as is being announced. We will continue to raise our voice, especially given the clarity and evidence of the serious problem we have in school coexistence, and to stop it, Education needs more resources, not less.
” Government Perspective From the Executive branch, they assured that they will begin working on regulations that facilitate schools in adopting security measures. One of the most discussed in recent days has been the potential installation of metal detectors, but for this to happen, there must be agreement within the educational community. They also insisted that this will not be mandatory and will remain at the discretion of each educational institution.