Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, Telefónica, Cisco and IBM help advanced secondary and vocational training students continue their studies

The MEFP, based on the number of students weighted by their income levels, has proposed that the regional governments distribute the SIM cards among those students with the greatest difficulties in accessing technological resources, according to the criteria established by the Regional Education Departments and, as the case may be, the Regional Social Well-being Departments. Accordingly, their impact will be guaranteed in terms of fairness. At this level of education, moreover, students can make even greater use of these tools, as they facilitate access to video-conferences, multimedia material and interactive material.

"Our greatest concern since classes were suspended is for those pupils most affected by the digital gap and social divide. The MEFP is working and seeking collaboration from all parties to alleviate the effects of this situation as far as possible because we must not leave anyone behind", stressed the minister, Isabel Celaá.

In this regard, Cisco has contributed Cisco Webex to this project, a collaboration tool that connects teachers and pupils in real time, including functionalities to create a virtual classroom - video-conference and desktop sharing, among others. Furthermore, the version Cisco Webex Teams facilitates collaboration between teachers and pupils.

For its part, IBM contributes the hardware for the process of implementing and using the technology platform to the education community. Close to 600 professionals have signed up as volunteers to advise teachers, with the aim of harnessing the interaction with pupils to the full. They will also provide remote aid in real time to resolve any queries.

Gratitude to participant companies

At these difficult times for the whole education community, above all for the most vulnerable pupils, due to the suspension of classroom activities caused by the state of emergency due to COVID-19, the MEFP wishes to recognise and thank Telefónica, Cisco and IBM for their particular sensitivity and social commitment.

The MEFP would also encourage other operators in the telecommunications sector and providers of mobile devices to sign up to this initiative which will help mitigate in part the digital gap and social divide with those pupils with the least resources.

Since the suspension of classroom activities was decreed to halt the spread of the coronavirus, the MEFP has implemented various different actions to help students continue with their studies form home. Accordingly, it set up the web page 'Aprendo en casa' [I am learning at home], which contains a range of material to work in a digital environment aimed at teachers, families and regional education departments.

For those students with difficulties gaining Internet access because they don't have a computer or because they live in areas where the signal is not strong enough or because they have problems sharing broadband, on Monday, 23 March, thanks to the collaboration of Spanish Television TVE, the programme 'Aprendemos en casa' [Let's learn at home] began to be broadcast - five hours of educational programmes for pupils aged 6 to 16. 26 publishers and education portals collaborated in this project, providing material to make this programme possible under difficult conditions and in record time.

Non official translation