The Socialist Group in the Cabildo of Lanzarote has demanded that Oswaldo Betancort ask the Government of the Canary Islands to urgently improve the care of students with specific educational support needs (SEN) in Lanzarote. The councilor of the Socialist Group, Alberto Aguiar, has pointed out that the situation is critical: "The beginning of the school year has revealed the lack of essential resources for the care of boys and girls with special needs in Lanzarote and La Graciosa. The education of these minors is being seriously harmed, and we cannot allow them to continue paying the consequences of poor management by the Ministry," he said.
In this line, the Socialist Group has presented a motion for the Cabildo to urge the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands to sign agreements with the Cabildos to improve care for SEN students and will ask that the resources that have been cut this 2024/2025 academic year for the care of students with special needs be restored.
Among the most worrying cuts is the reduction of educational assistants, a fundamental resource to guarantee an inclusive and equitable education.
These shortcomings have been pointed out by the Confederation of AMPAS Federations (CONFAPA), which represents the families of the islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and La Palma, and which has denounced the shortcomings in the care of SEN students. In its report "Proposals for education and inclusion", prepared together with associations that work with functional diversity, CONFAPA exposes the serious difficulties faced by students with special needs in educational centers in Lanzarote.
Among the measures requested in the motion is the signing of agreements between the Ministry of Education and the Island Councils to improve educational infrastructures and respond to the needs of SEN students. In addition, the Ministry of Employment of the Government of the Canary Islands is urged to implement a Specific Employment Plan with specialized personnel, aimed at reinforcing care in key classrooms, even during extracurricular hours.
"It is essential that the Cabildo of Lanzarote takes a firm position and demands immediate solutions to ensure that no boy or girl does not receive the adequate care that belongs to them by right. Education is a fundamental right and the Government of the Canary Islands must fulfill its obligation to provide the necessary resources to ensure a quality education for all," Aguiar concluded.