The local secretary of Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista (NC-bc) in Tías, Arminda Barreto, has denounced in a press release that the Municipal nursery of Puerto del Carmen continues closed four years later since the City Council announced the start of the procedures for its opening. From the Canarian organization, they have been demanding the implementation of this center "repeatedly since 2022, without any real progress having been made to date".
“What in 2022 was presented as a priority, in 2026 continues to be an unfulfilled promise,” states Barreto. Currently, of the three public centers in the municipality, only the CEIP Concepción Rodríguez Artiles has classrooms for the first cycle of Early Childhood Education (2 years), insufficient to cover the demand, especially in Puerto del Carmen, the town with the largest child population in the municipality.
NC-bc points out that other municipalities have advanced in the implementation of the first cycle of Early Childhood Education, taking advantage of the programs of the Ministry of Education. “When there is political will and institutional collaboration, things move forward. In Tías, unfortunately, it is not happening,” emphasizes Barreto.
Barreto recalls that since 2022, NC-bc "has demanded on several occasions the opening of the Municipal nursery of Puerto del Carmen, insisting on the need to rehabilitate the space and equip it with adequate resources and spaces." In 2023, Amado Vizcaíno, current CC councilor in Tías, highlighted the importance of the City Council coordinating with the Department of Education to guarantee sufficient public places. “We agree that collaboration between administrations is key, but unfortunately it has never materialized in facts,” Barreto points out.
As of today, with CC-PP leading the Government of the Canary Islands and the Ministry of Education, they state that "the situation remains the same". “Neither the historical demands nor the experience of all these years have managed to get the nursery school opened. What prevails continues to be political gain, not the needs of families,” denounces the Local Secretary of the Canaristas.
NC-bc considers "essential that the Tías City Council, governed by the PSOE and PODEMOS, assumes its direct responsibility in the opening of the center and in the creation of new Early Childhood Education classrooms in public schools". At the same time, it demands that the council "formally require the Department of Education the implementation of more first cycle classrooms in the municipality, as has been done in other parts of Lanzarote".
“Each administration has its part: the City Council has spaces and competencies; the Ministry, programs and funding. Now real leadership and coordination are needed,” states Barreto.
The lack of public places forces many families to resort to private nurseries or move outside the municipality, making work-life balance difficult. In addition, several private nurseries have closed in recent years, leaving areas of the municipality without this basic resource.
Barreto warns that the implementation of the first cycle of Early Childhood Education "requires planning and investments", including works, construction or adaptation of spaces and provision of safe and adapted infrastructures. “Any other approach means delaying the solution and not addressing the underlying problem”, states Barreto.
Thus, NC-bc proposes as priority lines immediately putting into operation the municipal nursery of Puerto del Carmen taking advantage of the existing infrastructure; developing a municipal plan for Early Childhood Education 0-3 years, with a calendar, budget, and study of needs by areas of the municipality; and actively and publicly coordinating the City Council with the Department of Education to promote new first-cycle classrooms, including the necessary works and resources.
“It is time to transform commitments into facts and ensure that Early Childhood Education in Tías stops being an outstanding issue,” concludes Arminda Barreto.
