The Local Committee of Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista (NC-bc) in Arrecife wanted to start the school year by demanding that the municipal government group of the Popular Party (PP) and Coalición Canaria (CC) invest public money in building nursery schools for 0 to 3 year olds.
This was demanded by Sheila Guillén, spokesperson for the Canaristas in Arrecife, who maintains that “currently Arrecife only has a single public nursery school that in this school year offers 50 places out of the 90 existing, an insufficient number for a city of 70,000 inhabitants where the child population is around 3 percent.”
According to Guillén, “the Strategic Plan for schooling from 0 to 2 years of the Government of the Canary Islands establishes a minimum of 40 percent coverage in early childhood education, which means that Arrecife should have around 700 public places.” A number, argues the Canarista, “very far from the current reality, where most families are unable to send their children to school since the private offer is also not enough.”
“Arrecife neglects important issues for its residents, and nursery schools are important for many families who are trying to reconcile work and family,” maintains Guillén, who sees it as “essential” to start working so that Arrecife has more public nursery schools that guarantee a close and quality education, as required by the agreement between the Federation of Municipalities of the Canary Islands and the Government of the Canary Islands where the City Councils commit to helping in the construction of Public Nursery Schools.”
For the Canaristas, “the City Council can work on two lines, the first is to promote the construction of Nursery Schools with its own resources; and the second is to demand through the Federation of Municipalities of the Canary Islands that the Government of the Canary Islands approve more public places in the municipality's educational centers.”
“Betting on early childhood education is betting on the educational future of the boys and girls of Arrecife and should not be determined by the postal code or the island where they reside,” comments Guillén, who maintains that “both the PP and CC do not believe in early childhood education. They bet on each family paying or looking for a way to reconcile. A model that is unconcerned about the well-being of our neighbors and the education of our boys and girls.”