Two head teachers of Orihuela Costa schools met with the deputy mayor, Manuel Mestre, and the councillors for education and planning on Friday to remind them, once again, of the appalling situation with schooling on the coast, a situation that they said is only getting worse.
Unfortunately, although stating that their commitment is for the new school number 20 to start operating by September, by the start of the next school year, they were still not able to wrestle a specific date from the council officials.
All the time that the opening is delayed the number of new students, many of whom speak absolutely no Spanish, continues to grow.
Thus, while Playas de Orihuela should have about 540 students, it currently has around 800, and Los Dolses, with a recommended level of 388, is at around 710.
This is situation that has forced Los Dolses to sacrifice even the teachers’ restroom and hold classes in corridors.
Unfortunately. the previous council was lost in a multitude of location changes while the Ministry waited for the order to build the prefabricated classrooms, which sat ready for assembly. Now, the current executive confirms that, on this occasion, “they have made progress” and they will have the school ready for the September term.
Despite their frustration and annoyance, the two head teachers described the meeting as ‘positive’ stating that they are ready to give the council ‘a chance’. During the meeting the council also promised to assign a permanent project manager to the undertaking, something they describe as “a great advance.”
The school directors told the councillors that even with the arrival of the new school, although it may be a “temporary solution”, it will not end the overload of students in Orihuela Costa until the expansion of the Los Dolses school is undertaken on an adjacent plot.
