"Canarian education suffers from a funding deficit close to 600 million euros by 2026, the largest gap since the approval of the Canary Islands Education Law in 2014"
This was stated by the Platform for 5% for Education in the working meeting held this week with the Ombudsman, Lola Padrón, in which they conveyed their concern about the content of the Canary Islands Community Budget for 2026.
In the new budget, educational investment stands at 4.07% of GDP, thus failing once again to comply with the legal mandate that sets a minimum of 5%
The Platform explains that "after reaching 4.63% of GDP in 2023, at the end of the previous term, since then, successive budgets have consolidated a setback that takes the Canary Islands away from the legal objective and convergence with other educational systems in the State".
In the meeting, the Platform recalled that the law stipulated reaching 5% of GDP in 2022, and that eleven years after its approval in 2014 its **non-compliance is structural**
According to their complaints, this budgetary shortfall has direct effects on schooling for 0- to 3-year-olds, the provision of teaching staff, attention to diversity, the modernization of infrastructure, and the development of educational reinforcement and innovation measures.
In the meeting, the Ombudswoman expressed her attention to the arguments presented and her commitment to analyze the complaint filed, within the framework of her functions to defend fundamental rights, including the right to education under conditions of equity and sufficiency of resources.
The 5% for Education Platform emphasizes that "educational investment is not an expense, but an essential condition for expanding the life opportunities of Canary Islands students and reducing the historical educational disadvantage of the Archipelago".
The complaint filed with the Ombudsman's Office aims precisely to activate the necessary institutional mechanisms for the Canary Islands Government to comply with current law and guarantee funding in line with the real needs of the education system and of present and future generations.