The Socialist Group in the Cabildo de Lanzarote will bring a motion to the Plenary of the Corporation to demand a firm response to the discrimination that Canarian students will suffer who are studying in Madrid and who will be excluded from the transport pass for not being registered in the Community of Madrid.
The socialist councilor Celeste Callero has denounced that this decision "directly punishes Canarian youth who have been forced to leave the islands to be able to train" and has warned that "it represents a new economic obstacle for families who already make an enormous effort to support their children's studies outside of the Canary Islands."
According to estimates included in the socialist initiative, between 3,000 and 5,000 Canarian students are currently pursuing their education in the Community of Madrid, of which between 300 and 500 come from Lanzarote and La Graciosa.
For Callero, the exclusion from the transport pass is "a deeply unfair measure," as it further increases the cost of living for students who already have to bear expenses for "accommodation, living expenses, travel, academic materials, and trips" between the Peninsula and the Canary Islands.
"The students from Conejero and Graciosero are not in Madrid out of whim. They are there because many degrees and training opportunities are not offered on our islands. Penalizing them for not being registered in Madrid is to ignore the reality of the Canary Islands and to treat as second-class those who already start with more difficulties due to living in a distant and fragmented territory," Callero pointed out.
The socialist councilor has criticized that the Popular Party Government in Madrid "applies an exclusionary measure that leaves out young Canarians who use public transport daily to go to their study centers, internships, libraries, or support jobs for their training."
"We are talking about equal opportunities. When a public administration makes a decision that makes the daily life of displaced students more expensive, it is raising another barrier between those who can afford to study abroad and those who cannot. And in the face of that, the Cabildo de Lanzarote has to be on the side of its people," she affirmed.
The PSOE motion proposes that the Plenary of the Cabildo de Lanzarote express its rejection of this "discrimination exercised against Canarian students and, especially, against young people from Lanzarote and La Graciosa who are studying in Madrid."
Will demand the Government of the Canary Islands to reverse this situation
Likewise, the Socialist Group will request to urge the Government of the Canary Islands to transfer this agreement to the Presidency of the Community of Madrid and to carry out "all necessary steps to reverse this situation".
Callero has argued that “Lanzarote and La Graciosa cannot remain silent while their youth are harmed,” and has asked the other political groups of the Cabildo to support the socialist initiative.
“Standing up to this discrimination is defending our students, their families, and the right of young Canary Islanders to train on equal terms. No young person from Lanzarote or La Graciosa should pay more to study elsewhere simply for not being registered in Madrid,” he concluded.