Amazon ‘sneaks’ in schools: “Dear parents: help to the institute of your children buying on the platform”

Amazon as a solution.As help.As marketing.Amazon to renew computers.To buy UKELELES or to change, in general, the school supplies.More than 7.500 educational centers in Spain, both public and concerted or private, participate in a campaign of the American company that launched last year and that has renewed this to solve problems that autonomic administrations do not solve, at least in the centers held withpublic funds, which is where they have competencies.The formula is simple: any Amazon customer who buys a product can donate 1% of the total amount to the educational center you decide and, with the accumulated, the school can buy school products for free.The debate is on the table.Should a private company solve the financing problems of schools?There are opinions for all tastes.Amazon denies that it is a campaign to win customers.

"Dear families," writes the director of a public center in Madrid to the parents of his students, "if you buy at Amazon (we are not telling you that you buy at Amazon, but in the case that you already buy), now you can help theInstitute of your children, in a very simple way ".Thus starts an email in which he explains that until February 6 next year they can donate for free through the www campaign.UNCLICPARELCOLE.It is 1% of all purchases that make their own center.They just have to click on the link, choose the center they want to help and go.Any purchase, whatever, will serve to accumulate virtual money that will be available to the center to redeem in a wide catalog of more than 1.000 products, "designed to meet the needs of students and teachers," according to the company, such as electronic equipment, school supplies, sports articles, music instruments or furniture.

The director of the Madrid center who sent the mail exemplifies the need and the solution to his problems in a clear way: "Last year we managed to change all the computers of the classrooms of 2nd baccalaureate freely through this program".In its first edition, the American technology donated a total of 3.8 million euros in the form of that virtual credit.

That is why the centers have launched themselves to encourage families.On Twitter, the La Raza Public College, in Seville, explains that thanks to donations the center has this school of UKELELES for the music area and a new computer available to the center.Antonio Fontán, from Madrid, states that the initiative in which he participated last year returns this year and recalls that they got “a lot of school supplies”.The same explains the Association of Parents of the Blas de Otero, of Alcorcón, which encourages the followers of their account, which are usually the parents themselves, to buy for Amazon to facilitate the lives of their children.

The fact that these donations are received by subsidized centers with public funds, for very good intentions behind, he raises some ampoules.At least, he puts on the table a debate that is not new, since the country was divided a year ago with a similar proposal when Amancio Ortega, the founder of Inditex, lent himself to donate sanitary material to better cope with the pandemic.

Some experts consulted doubt about the ethical component of the initiative, since, in principle it may seem that it is an action to help the most needy schools, but the families who buy the most online are not usually those that have a lower socioeconomic profile.Esperanza Román, professor of linguistics at the American public university George Mason (in the state of Virgina) and author of learning to learn in the digital age, considers that “there are more transparent, sustainable and efficient ways that large companies contribute to theCreation of a fairer society ", because" entering the dynamics of the more you consume the better your children's school is very risky ".

Another of Román's arguments against is the fact that this discount must be used to use products on that platform."Companies present themselves as generous when they are not clear what other intentions are behind".

In the Ballester Fandos de Valencia public school, teachers and families had a debate for WhatsApp last year because some were reluctant to adhere to the campaign."We are a center of difficult performance and most of our students have few economic resources, so each course we buy the material that families cost in other schools," explains Vicent, one of the teachers.He assures that they do not have a buoyant budget and despite that, they were not clear if it was ethical to "make an advertising campaign" and encourage families to buy by means."We have more teachers because of the characteristics of the center, but the money given by the administration for material is the same as that of the rest, so in the end we look for the interest of our students and we point to each other," he says.

For Patricia, teacher of a public school in Benetússer, the problem is the high cost associated with the maintenance of technological equipment.“To use digital boards, a canyon is needed, whose LED bulb melts every so often and you have to renew...To this is added the purchase of interactive monitors or light tables for children.There are many expensive materials and we go to the limit, ”he says.That's why the Amazon campaign seemed very good idea and this year they will adhere.“This does not harm the local trade, each type of purchase has its channel.In addition, Amazon also creates jobs, the labor market is changing, ”he says.

For Amazon, 2020 was the best year in its history with income in Spain of 1.569 million euros, 88% more than the previous year.Technology became one of the great winners of the change in habits derived from pandemic, with consumers spending more on purchases through the Internet.That rebound was not accompanied in the same proportion by the fiscal invoice: the US company paid 8.4 million in the concept of companies.

"It's not a" marketing "campaign

A company spokesman ensures that intention is not to gain anything in return and that it is not a marketing campaign.That is why they have not publicized almost, they say, and they have only informed the centers through an email.He says that last year, with the pandemic, the company decided to launch the initiative in Spain and in Italy to reaffirm “the commitment to culture and education” and that “the objective is to support centers and families offering additional support".It also includes it in a set of solidarity initiatives that the company carries out, such as donation to SOS Children's Aldeas with the Red Cross program responds or a new food donation campaign for animal shelters.

The company notes that a study recently conducted by Spanish families revealed that 65.3 % believe that solidarity initiatives are an excellent way to support educational centers and 77.4 % believe they are necessary especially after pandemic.

Isabel Galvín, representative of the CC OO union in Madrid, believes that any school or institute "would have to be financed to guarantee the right to education in equal opportunities and are not".Educational investment in Spain represents 4.26% GDP, compared to 5% European average (Madrid is in the country's tail with 2.4%)."And this is reflected in the lack of resources for the operation of the centers and for material, connectivity ...".Galvín questions that the greater or lesser financing that comes through Amazon depends on the purchasing capacity of the families of the center and, therefore, "it is a mechanism that reproduces and reinforces inequalities".

In the same line points Carmen Morillas, vice president of the Spanish Confederation of Mothers and Parents of Students (CEAPA), who believes that it is "a marketing campaign" with which the company "all that seeks to increase itsSales with the lure of education ”, and that if there is an adequate investment by administrations there would be no initiatives.

Whether marketing or not, the centers that are pointed out, win.The doubt, in the end, is whether the end justifies the media.

You can follow the country education on Facebook and Twitter, or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.