The Secretary of State for Education, Abelardo de la Rosa, has taken advantage of his visit to Melilla to know in situ the state and operation of several educational centers in the city. It has been accompanied by the Director General of Planning and Educational Management, Susana Tejadillos, the Assistant Director General of Centers and Programs, Librada Carrera, as well as the team of the Provincial Directorate of Education, headed by its holder, Elena Fernández Treviño.
During the visit, De la Rosa highlighted the value of educational investment as a tool to advance social cohesion and justice. “Education has to form skills and competences, yes, but it cannot be limited to training workers. Education has to educate citizens,” he said.
The Secretary of State has stressed the importance of “educating for citizenship, for coexistence, for solidarity, for inclusion and for equality.” “These are constitutional values and are values of our basic education law, which we cannot avoid,” he said.
In this regard, the Secretary of State has claimed the role of the school as a key space for the development of a fairer society. “Some argue that values and ethics should remain in the private sphere. By no means.” The public authorities have an obligation to, in education, open the key to values,” he said.
Attention to diversity and fight against school dropout
The Secretary of State has also addressed the particular challenges facing Melilla in the field of education. “In Melilla, as in Ceuta, we have the need to promote permanence in the educational system and avoid high dropout rates,” he said.
The Secretary of State has stressed that Melilla presents a “special singularity”, marked by its status as a border city and its “fortunate mixture of cultures”. This wealth, he said, also poses challenges that must be addressed. “Diversity today is the new normality. We used to see it as something complementary; today it is the axis on which our classrooms are built,” he said.
In this regard, he stressed that access and permanence in the educational system must be accompanied by support measures, but also by a curriculum and school activities that genuinely address this diversity.
Schools visited
The team of the Ministry of Education has visited the building of the former Central Market, current headquarters of the Official School of Languages (EOI), the Carmen Conde Abellán Adult Education Center (ECA) and the Conservatory of Music, a space rehabilitated by the Ministry that represents a commitment to the urban integration of learning and the reuse of emblematic spaces.
It has also toured the new IES Virgen de la Victoria, built on the grounds of the old Valencian Garden. The centre stands out for its versatile design, with classrooms adapted to new methodologies, large spaces, natural light and specific areas for Vocational Training.
Another of the centers visited was the CEIP Encarna León, in the old Gabriel de Morales Barracks. Inaugurated last year by Minister Pilar Alegría, this school incorporates green areas, inclusive courtyards and classrooms adapted to children. Currently it provisionally hosts the Music School ‘Paula Guillén Gallego’, and the next course will incorporate a school dining service, thus expanding its educational and conciliation offer.
Infrastructure and public services
The Secretary of State on the importance of educational spaces. “Architecture, light, distribution... everything influences how you teach and learn. Spaces matter, and the Government of Spain is demonstrating with action its commitment to a modern, inclusive and quality public education.”
During the tour, the Secretary of State had the opportunity to know the pedagogical lines and specific needs of each center through the management teams, highlighting the effort made by the Ministry in the modernization of educational infrastructures in the city.
In addition, Abelardo de la Rosa has stressed the need for public centers to offer families quality and essential services such as morning classrooms, school canteen service and extracurricular activities, which are fundamental to progress in equity and family reconciliation.
In this regard, he also highlighted the implementation of the PROA+ program, a State initiative aimed at strengthening the educational accompaniment of the most vulnerable students, “as a guarantee that these initial, personal conditions of the students are not an obstacle to access, permanence or educational success.”
“Inclusion is not just a legal obligation; it is an ethical obligation. And fairness forces us to put more effort where it is most needed. In Melilla, as in other territories, we must ensure that no student is left behind”, he concluded.
Art, key piece in education
The visit also included a tour of the Miguel Marmolejo School of Art, where the Secretary of State valued the role of these teachings and highlighted the recent approval of the Law of Artistic Teachings, promoted by the Government of Spain.
“The Government is convinced that artistic teachings are key to the integral development of students. This new law guarantees its access with quality, projection and stability throughout the territory”, he has made clear.