TEACHER Turmoil: José Antonio Barquero, president of the National Association of Educators (ANDE), held a press conference yesterday to address recent chaos in the Public Education Ministry's Personnel Department. Officials there allegedly played to political ties when appointing teachers, and mix-ups resulted in 4,000 teachers not showing up on the first day of school last week. Barquero called for Education Minister Leonardo Garnier and President Oscar Arias to declare the situation a national emergency.

Gas prices just got a hike for the first time so far this year. The Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) has approved increases in the prices of gas, diesel and other fuels, according to a statement it released yesterday.

Public Speaking Workshop
Today and tomorrow, 5 p.m.-9 p.m., Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce, 150 m. north of El Pueblo Shopping Center, Barrio Tournón, San José. Info: 221-0005.

Johnny Dread and Bamaselo in Concert
Babylon, Tamarindo, northwestern Guanacaste province. Info: 863-0395.

“Cabaret”
Musical, today through Sunday, 8 p.m., Lucho Barahona Theater, San José. Info: 223-5972.

By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff | kstanley@ticotimes.net

What began last week as an apparent case of regular first-day-of-school mayhem has now become a full-fledged scandal, with the Public Education Ministry (MEP) facing allegations that its Personnel Department ceded to political pressure when appointing teachers and other MEP employees for the 2007 school year.

Personnel Department director Alvaro Alpízar resigned from his post Tuesday, and assistant personnel director Edwin Hernández also resigned at Education Minister Leonardo Garnier's request, the minister explained yesterday following President Oscar Arias' weekly Cabinet meeting.

“Things weren't working the way they're supposed to work,” Garnier said of the department. Last week, an estimated 4,000 teachers did not show up for the first day of school Feb. 7 because they weren't properly notified; cases have been reported of two or three teachers named to the same post, or one teacher given two jobs in different parts of the country, or schools missing as much as a third of their staff.

However, accusations of favoritism, particularly in favor of candidates allegedly recommended by members of the National Liberation Party (PLN), have taken center stage. The daily La Nación reported yesterday that Néstor Jiménez, a Liberation campaign leader in Puriscal, southwest of San José, asked the Education Ministry to create 21 positions for people who had worked on Arias' campaign.

The day before, La Nación reported that Liberation legislator Olivier Jiménez had coordinated teacher placement in the Southern Zone through one of his advisors.

Garnier said he has no problem with people making recommendations, but that those shouldn't be taken into account in placing personnel, which should be done according to the experience-based point system that's in place.

The Comptroller General's Office has agreed to conduct a study of the ministry's hiring practices as a result of the irregularities, and the ministry is conducting an internal audit, Garnier said.

José Antonio Barquero, president of the National Association of Educators (ANDE), held a press conference yesterday to ask Garnier and Arias to declare a state of emergency and direct increased attention to the problem. Many schools are still missing 10 or more teachers, he said.

An alleged Salvadoran gang member on the list of people most wanted in his country was arrested Tuesday afternoon in San José, according to a statement from International Police (INTERPOL).

The 26-year-old man, identified by the name Luis Mario Torres and commonly known as “Pimar,” is accused of murder and conspiracy.

He is associated with Mara Salvatrucha, a Salvadoran gang that originated in the United States and is suspected of orchestrating organized crime, theft, kidnapping and homicide. Torres also has a criminal record in the United States.

Torres told police he fled El Salvador because he had “changed his life and decided to turn himself over to God,” according to the statement.

However, Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal told the daily La Nación the young man had made contacts with youth in Santa Ana, west of San José, with the intention of starting a Mara Salvatrucha branch in Costa Rica.

Torres left El Salvador Oct. 29, 2004 and traveled briefly through Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Immigration officials believe he then entered Costa Rica illegally through the southern border town of Paso Canoas and stayed here illegally, the statement said. He is under police custody and faces deportation to El Salvador.

-Tico Times

Gas prices just got a hike for the first time so far this year. The Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) has approved increases in the prices of gas, diesel and other fuels, according to a statement it released yesterday.

This hike, which will go into effect as soon as it is published in the official government daily La Gaceta, will bring the price of one liter of super gas from ¢453 ($0.88) to ¢463 ($0.90), regular gas from ¢425 ($0.82) to ¢436 ($0.84), and diesel fuel from ¢335 ($0.64) to ¢347 ($0.67).

The National Oil Refinery requested this increase last week to reflect variations of petroleum prices on the international market caused by cold weather in the United States and problems with refineries there, the statement said.