The Government of the Canary Islands has acknowledged this Monday that it has not been able to school all the immigrant minors under its tutelage, more than 5,500, but 2,188, but assures that it is "overwhelmed" and that it needs other autonomous communities to share the effort it makes to welcome them.
"We have 2,188 migrant boys and girls in school. It is true that not all children in the Canary Islands are being schooled, but here, once again, we are calling on the other autonomous communities to take in migrant children," said the Minister of Education of the archipelago, Poli Suárez (PP).
The Minister has responded in this way to the concern expressed this Friday by the Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, after his last visit to the centers for migrant minors in the Canary Islands, when he drew attention to issues such as the levels of schooling of this group of children and adolescents.
Of the total number of wards, we must subtract the boys between 16 and 18 years old, who are outside the age of compulsory schooling, and also those who are awaiting medical tests because it is suspected that they are of legal age, but the Minister has acknowledged that the problem pointed out by Gabilondo exists.
"We are schooling those we can school today and we will have to continue schooling. This has meant, among other things, more than 1,900 hours compared to the previous school year of language reinforcement classes for these boys and girls," added the head of Education.
Suárez has remarked that, in educational matters alone, the guardianship of these children costs the Canary Islands five million euros.
"But it is true that no one is hiding the fact that we are overwhelmed and we need the help of the other autonomous communities and also of Europe. On the part of the Government of the Canary Islands we are going to continue attending to these boys and girls within the possibilities that we have," he insisted.
