Last Tuesday, March 12, a delegation from the municipal government of Cabrera de Mar, accompanied by members of the Student Families Association (AFA), went to the Parliament of Catalonia to express their deep rejection of the decision of the Department of Education of the Generalitat of Catalonia to eliminate an Infant 3 line at the Pla de l’Avellà School Institute.
The decision to suppress an I3 line, taken without prior notification and after the laying of the first stone for the expansion of the School Institute, puts at risk access to quality public education for the families of Cabrera de Mar. What the City Council defines as “an action of clear inconsistency”, the aim is to eliminate an Infant 3 line despite the ongoing expansion of the institute, which is designed to house two lines for each generation.
The mayor, Òscar Fernàndez, has strongly rejected this measure, and has urged the Department of Education to reconsider it. The justification of the department, based on the adjustment of the educational offer according to the population census, has also been questioned by the mayor, who highlights the demographic growth and the current situation of the center to preserve both lines. This measure represents a serious difficulty in accessing public education at a key moment in the admission process.
For the next course, there are only a total of 20 places available for Preschool 3. The children who will begin studying I3 this year will be those born during the year 2021, a total of 37. Of these, we find that there are already 16 places that are reserved: three for students with special educational needs and 13 for those with siblings already enrolled in the school. This means that there are only four places left for the total of 29 remaining children. In this way, the decision to eliminate a line not only endangers the center’s educational offering, it could also exclude some families from the only public school in the town.
At the meeting in Parliament, the municipal government presented a motion that will be voted on in the next ordinary plenary session of Cabrera de Mar, in defense of the maintenance of the two Infant 3 lines, showing the rejection of the decision as well as demanding an urgent review of this measure to guarantee a complete and quality educational offer for all the inhabitants of Cabrera de Mar.
In the municipal statement they highlight that it is of great importance that public institutions ensure the universal right to quality education. That is why the Cabrera de Mar town council will continue working to defend the educational interests of the community and guarantee a promising future for the children of the municipality.
