The Provincial Director of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFPyD), Juan Ángel Berbel, has reported on a Collaboration Agreement with the Autonomous City for the development of various programs of mutual interest focused on educational compensation actions and training of disadvantaged young people and adults for the academic year 2024-2025 and for which a 1.6 million euros are going to be allocated.
As explained by the head of the Provincial Directorate of the MEFPyD, this Agreement has three objectives, on the one hand to ensure the necessary resources for the adoption of measures aimed at ensuring that students in a situation of social disadvantage and requiring educational attention different from the ordinary one due to late or irregular schooling, due to lack of knowledge of the Spanish language, personal conditions or any other circumstance, remain in school on a regular basis and can achieve the maximum development of their personal capacities and, in any case, the objectives established in general for all students.
Secondly, to contribute to the return to basic education or vocational training of disadvantaged young people and adults, with problems of social and occupational exclusion, who lack basic training.
And, thirdly, to combat school absenteeism in order to ensure the proper fulfillment of the educational objectives of the most disadvantaged students in the City of Melilla.
As you have explained, in implementation of this agreement, a Program of activities and a Training Program will be developed and a Support Unit for guidance and monitoring of early school leaving will be maintained.
Socio-educational support
Juan Ángel Berbel has referred to the Program of activities that aims to reinforce and support actions in the development of actions to compensate for inequalities aimed at improving school performance.
This programme will offer, as a priority, a Plan for the Prevention of Situations of Socio-Educational Risk in Children and Adolescents from the educational system, a Plan for the Strengthening of Reading Skills, and a Plan for Socio-Educational Support.
As for the Training Program, “it tries to respond to the needs detected in the City of Melilla for the training of disadvantaged young people and adults, with risk of social exclusion and difficulties of employment because they lack basic education or first professional training”, he explained and it will be developed through priority actions.
Among them, a Literacy and Linguistic Immersion Plan in Spanish, both for adults and minors, both unaccompanied foreign minors and children of the Temporary Immigrant Stay Center; a Training Promotion Program towards Employability, which includes a program of change of perspective “actitudinal coaching” and a program of professional or educational initiation; and a ICT Support Plan, aimed at students of Infant and Primary Education.
Follow-up and support
In Berbel’s words, the Early School-Leaving Guidance and Follow-Up Unit aims to provide specific follow-up and support to young people and adults without sufficient qualifications, in order to provide them with information on the different training possibilities and the different ways of returning to the system and will be able to guide them in the professional field.
“It will mainly target young people who have left the education system prematurely without a degree or who, having the title of Graduate in Compulsory Secondary Education, have left the education system without completing the baccalaureate or the vocational training cycles of the middle degree,” he explained.
Through this Agreement, which will remain in force until July 31, 2025, the City has committed itself to hiring the necessary teachers with the appropriate qualification and non-teaching staff required for their development and including, according to their budgetary availability, small works of reform or improvement of the centers where the actions are carried out.
The coordinator of the Agreement will indicate the activities to be carried out in the educational centers and the time of the same, being subject to the normal development of the teaching activity and the operation of the center, to its realization outside the school hours and to the previous programming.
For its part, the MEFPyD will facilitate the development of the actions resulting from this agreement in the educational centers dependent on it and will establish the procedure for the use of the educational centers by the municipal authorities, outside the school hours, for educational, cultural, sports or other activities of a social nature.