Apparently, the main difficulties have been of an administrative nature as well as carrying out the paving "which was finished on Friday of last week on the main street", said Rafael Juan González, and the sewage system that is already being executed these days. In this way, the start of classes will be in 6 of the 24 modules planned. Meanwhile, the rest of the center will remain fenced off to continue with the works.
The other two centers that have started this year are the one in Playa Honda, which, according to the general director of Educational Promotion, did so normally by launching 6 Infant units for 140 places, and the one in La Garita de Arrieta, which is also expected to be finished in a few days. In this way, Lanzarote has for this 2006/2007 academic year 83 centers, 1547 teachers, 107 people belonging to non-teaching staff and 21,852 students.
New course and new projects
The new course is marked by two major aspects. Regarding immigrant students, it should be noted that their percentage, around 13% (about 3,400 young people) is similar to that of the previous year. In addition, it is worth highlighting some programs such as the Measures for Attention to Diversity with a budget of 900,000 euros for language support or adaptation plans and an item of more than 250,000 in cooperation destined for Morocco, Cape Verde, Venezuela and Cuba.
The project for the free provision of books has an investment of 4 million euros from the Ministry of Education and 368,000 euros from the Ministry of Education. Thus, these texts are free for students in fifth and sixth grade, although the objective is to extend it to all courses. The MEDUSA plan, for the implementation of computers in educational centers, already means that there are 11.35 primary school students per computer "and we are below the European average, which is thirteen, which is good news", said Rafael Juan González.
Finally, it is worth highlighting the plan to reconcile family and work life, for which four educational centers on the Island have already requested the aid of 1,800 euros per unit that will allow these schools to open an hour earlier so that students can be there if their parents have to work. At the same time, the Canary Islands Plan for Extracurricular Activities has already been launched with the support of the Cabildo.
To school, motorized
Among the services that are produced around education, it is worth highlighting the school transport service, since in Lanzarote there are 87 routes with 78 companions. The numerical difference is due to the fact that in some cases taxis or minibuses are used that do not need people to take care of the children.
Regarding school canteens, it is worth highlighting the increase in their use, since the figure has tripled, reaching 2,000 students. In addition, the director of Educational Promotion highlighted that there are already 14 canteens and those belonging to the centers of Los Geranios, Playa Honda, Soo and Tahíche are pending to be launched.
