Vila-real City Council's Education Councilor, Anna Vicens, has responded to statements made by the Popular Party spokesperson, Adrián Casabó, concerning the free education for children aged 0 to 3 years, a measure that has benefited approximately 500 families in Vila-real. "The free education from 0 to 3 years is a family support policy that no one disputes. The problem is that the PP intends for this to be the only educational policy to discuss, while cutting resources and leaving essential projects unexecuted for thousands of students in Vila-real," stated Vicens. She noted that "it is surprising that Mr. Casabó wishes to present this measure as if it compensated for all the unfulfilled promises the Generalitat has accumulated with Vila-real in educational matters."
The deputy mayor and councilor for Public Services, Maria Fajardo, highlighted that the governing team "has always been sensitive to the needs of the 0 to 3 years educational stage and, within municipal competencies, we have acted to support both families and centers." She recalled that the City Council has assisted early childhood centers individually in processing the bonus for the new waste tax and has created a specific subsidy line to help these centers cope with the cost.
"The question is very simple: if about 500 families have benefited from free education for 0 to 3 years, how many thousands of students and families across all educational stages continue to suffer from the lack of investment, cuts, and eternally postponed projects by the Popular Party government?" the councilor posed. Vicens lamented that "the PP of Vila-real once again acts as a defender of the Consell's educational policy when practically the entire educational community is demanding more resources, more teachers, and more investment for public education."
In this regard, the councilor recalled that Vila-real continues to await the construction of the fourth institute, a dedicated facility for the Official School of Languages of La Plana Baixa, a building for the Adult Education School, the Integrated Public Vocational Training Center for Building and Civil Works, the comprehensive renovation of CEIP Escultor Ortells, and the completion of the Edificant projects for CEIP Botànic Calduch and CPEE La Panderola.
"The families of Vila-real do not need propaganda; they need dignified educational centers, more places, more resources, and for the Generalitat to fulfill its acquired commitments, such as the one announced a few weeks ago by Pérez Llorca to air-condition educational centers. We hope it does not remain merely words, because the situation in classrooms is complicated and can affect students' concentration and comprehension."
"The local PP should raise its voice to its government instead of applauding it while the city continues to await fundamental investments," the councilor demanded. Vicens concluded that "defending public education is much more than announcing aid. It is guaranteeing infrastructure, teaching staff, planning, and educational opportunities from 0 years of age to adult education. And in this regard, the PP's Generalitat still has a debt with Vila-real."
