“The explosion was generated by one of the students who went to light the kitchen.” These were part of the statements of Renato Galleguillos, who until this Thursday served as head of the Municipal Education Department (DAEM) of the commune of Los Vilos, to a television channel, on April 25, the day of the accident recorded in the Nicolás Federico Lohse Vargas high school.
Statements that, however, did not go unnoticed by the educational community, generating an avalanche of criticism towards the now former head of the DAEM.
In this context, through a public statement, the representatives of the fourth professional technical medium of the high school indicated that said accusation “is totally false, because the facts are still being investigated and none of the students suffered burns, only blows, damages psychological problems due to the event”, adding that Renato Galleguillos “never had any concern about the establishment, as did the director of the place, to whom on many occasions we went to explain the issue due to the risk to which the children, the teachers were exposed and the rest of the staff who work there and never took it into account,” the letter emphasizes.
In addition, they accuse her of having “two previous sanctions from other schools for not complying with the position to which she was appointed. We are asking for help as they are trying to downplay what happened. They frustrated the dreams of many young people.”
This criticism was also replicated by the Council of Teachers of the high school, who indicated that “we do not accept this type of statements, therefore, we demand clarification from the head of DAEM.”
Given all this commotion, through another statement, the municipality of Los Vilos revealed that this Thursday, Renato Galleguillos Osorio, presented his resignation from office, which was accepted by the mayor of the commune, Christian Gross Hidalgo.
“At the same time, it is necessary to point out that in a letter addressed to the Lohseana community, Renato Galleguillos has publicly apologized for the said comments to a media outlet, causing regret and annoyance on the part of teachers and students,” it is added in the notice.
In that sense, it is detailed that “in the aforementioned letter, he has expressed that it was not a treacherous act or bad faith, but rather a product of the tension of the moment due to the accident that occurred on April 25. Notwithstanding the foregoing and as instructed, in the first minute, by the mayor, an administrative summary continues in process to determine possible responsibilities of whoever corresponds.”
Furthermore, from the building they valued Galleguillos’ gesture, since now the priority is placed on generating the necessary conditions for a safe return to classes.
“We assume this situation with the reflection and seriousness it deserves, generating actions at the ministerial level with the purpose of ensuring that these unfortunate events do not occur again in an educational establishment,” the statement added.
In this regard, Matthias Eyzaguirre, councilor of Los Vilos, assured that “the departure of the DAEM chief, although it does not solve the problem, decompresses the atmosphere a little, especially after some unfortunate statements after the incident.”
“The important thing is the result of the expert reports to know what really happened and to be able to determine responsibilities, beyond the populism typical of an election year,” he added.
Meanwhile, from the College of Teachers at the national level, they reported that the teacher, Marcela Cortés, who was burned with 45% of her body by the explosion at the high school, is still hospitalized at the Workers’ Hospital in Santiago, and although she It is not life-threatening, but it is in a condition of extreme care.
On the other hand, it should be remembered that there is still no scheduled date for students to return to classes, since the focus will be placed first on the recovery of the high school infrastructure.
In this context, the discontent of parents, guardians, students and the educational community in general, of the Liceo Nicolás Federico Lohse Vargas, was felt through a march that took place this Friday, April 3 through the streets of downtown Los Vilos.
It should be noted that, according to high school sources, a security plan has not yet been presented by the municipality that would allow the safe return of students to the establishment.
