The educational community of the IES César Manrique has expressed its "deep discomfort at the unilateral decision of the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands to try to massify the only secondary school for preferential care of students with motor disabilities on the island of Lanzarote."
In a press release they point out that "the intention of the Autonomous Executive for the next 2018-2019 academic year is to increase from three to five groups of the first year of ESO, going from being a line 3 center to a line 5 center, which could affect the teaching of the Baccalaureate".
"This is totally unacceptable as we have to ensure compliance with the safety and mobility conditions of motor students, even more so when there is another Institute just 400 meters away with enough space to accommodate these students, which has lost several groups of said course," they add.
In addition, they state that "this measure would violate article 14 of Royal Decree 132/2010, of February 12, which establishes the minimum requirements that centers that teach the second cycle of Early Childhood Education, Primary Education and Secondary Education must meet."
Both the teachers, students and parents of the IES César Manrique understand that with this "incomprehensible decision, children in wheelchairs, walkers or crutches who have to move through the corridors of the center are seriously harmed, adding more difficulty to their day-to-day lives and going against the principles of equality, normalization, compensation, equity, integration and inclusion. Precisely, the incorporation of three new students with some type of motor disability is planned for the next course."
Finally, they state that "conversations have been held without success from the center with the island director of Education of Lanzarote, Mario Pérez, and letters have been sent to the general director of Centers and Educational Infrastructure of the Regional Government, Ana Isabel Dorta; to the general director of Planning, Innovation and Educational Promotion, Jonathan Martín; and to the Minister of the branch, Soledad Monzón herself."
