A Coruña, Mar 4 (EFE).- Seven teachers from different autonomies received the Educa Abanca Best Teacher in Spain 2022 Awards this Saturday, at a gala held in A Coruña attended by the Minister of Education, Pilar Alegría.
Alegría, who has been able to attend this event for the second time, has said in statements to the press before the start that it is necessary to “congratulate and recognize” the work of the more than 75,000 teachers in Spain.
And he has emphasized that, although they give “the best of themselves” every day, very “especially” they have done so in the worst moments of the health pandemic and have once again demonstrated this with the integration into educational spaces of more than 30,000 Ukrainian children who have arrived in the country “in these two school years”.
In addition, Alegría has underlined the constant concern for the emotional well-being of the students and the fact that the centers are always “safe” places, in which they feel complete confidence.
The educational platform Educa and the Obra Social Abanca grant these awards, which have reached their sixth edition, since this initiative was created in 2017 to pay tribute to all professionals in the educational field in the different stages of regulated academic training and also in non-formal education.
In addition to presenting the award to the seven teachers awarded in the different established categories, a special recognition was made at the gala to all the teachers who were finalists.
So, in total, 61 professionals who carry out their work in locations in different parts of the Spanish geography were distinguished for their good teaching practice and dedication to their profession.
Ana María González Herrera, from CEIP Maestro Eduardo Lobillo from Rota (Andalusia) received the award in the Early Childhood Education category. Luis Gutiérrez Martín, from the San José de León Marist School (Castilla y León), in the Primary Education category.
The teacher at the IES José Manzano de Don Benito (Extremadura) Susana Díaz Morcillo received the award in the Secondary Education section; and Alberto Castellano Barragán, from the IES Virgen de la Esperanza in La Línea de la Concepción (Andalusia), was recognized in the Vocational Training category.
In addition, Rubén Martínez Sánchez, a teacher at the NGO Mentor and Lideria International School in Puerto Lumbreras (Murcia), won the prize in the Non-formal Education category.
Finally, Manuel Cuadrado García, professor at the University of Valencia (Valencian Community), obtained recognition in the University category.
Each one received a commemorative Educa statuette, an accrediting diploma and a cash prize.
Some 250 people including winners, teachers and institutional representatives attended the gala, among which were apart from the Minister of Education; the president of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda; the Government delegate in Galicia, José Manuel Miñones; the Minister of Education, Román Rodríguez; and the mayoress of A Coruña, Inés Rey.
Rueda thanked the “silent work” that all teachers carry out daily to train the citizens of the future and highlighted, in particular, the role of teachers in turning the Galician educational system into a benchmark throughout Spain.
In this sense, he stressed that the milestones reached by Galician education in recent years, such as the reduction in the dropout rate since 2009 from 26 to the current 9.9%, are the result of teamwork between the administration and the community educational.
Miguel Ángel Escotet, president of Afundación, and the general director of the Educa platform, Víctor Arufe, also participated.
As a final touch, the honorable mention for teaching career was awarded to María Pilar Montero Yus, a retired teacher who has directed the Nertóbriga CEIP in La Almunia de Doña Godina (Zaragoza).