“If you think that you will not have competences in education, what is the reason for splitting the directorates-general and creating a second Directorate-General for Education Policy?”
The Provincial Director of Education in Melilla, Elena Fernández Treviño, has come to terms with the statements of the President of the City, Juan José Imbroda, who had indicated that the local government contributes funds in educational agreements with the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFPyD).
In statements to Televisión Melilla, he recalled that the investment of the Government of Spain in the city is “enormous and constant” both in infrastructure and in teachers and programs, and insisted that interinstitutional collaboration must be assumed as something “normal and logical”, not as a reason for complaint.
Fernández Treviño highlighted that the Ministry of Education has allocated very significant resources to the city, especially as a result of the pandemic, with the increase of 300 teachers who have stayed in the educational centers. Added to this, he recalled, is a “very important” investment in infrastructure. Proof of this, he said, are the Central Market, which brings together the School of Languages, Conservatory and Adult School, as well as the Virgen de la Victoria Institute or the Colegio Encarna León, together with the Dolores Bartolomé Children’s School, “in which the Ministry puts half of the investment”.
The head of Education has defended that the commitment of the MEFPyD with Melilla is “inescapable and clear”, while emphasizing that the educational reality demands today “to join other administrations and social agents”, because “the configuration of schools now needs a whole ‘tribe’ to train students”. In this regard, he recalled the involvement of associations and entities that carry out activities in the centers and contribute to improving equity and educational quality.
10 children's technicians more
Faced with Imbroda’s criticisms, Fernández Treviño has pointed out that the budgetary participation of the Autonomous City in the agreements is “normal and obligatory”, since it responds to its own competences. “Part of the competences of the Ministry of Education, precisely, is to collaborate with agreements with the Ministry of Education. So, the three or four agreements we have with the Autonomous City of Melilla is normal for them to put an economic budget, it is normal for there to be co-governance and interinstitutional cooperation,” he stressed.
At this point, he questioned the creation in the local government of a new General Directorate of Educational Policy: “If you think that you will not have competence in education, what is the reason for splitting the Directorates-General and creating a second Directorate-General for Education Policy?”, he wanted to know.
Fernández Treviño has referred to the main agreements in force and the participation of both administrations. Thus, he recalled that the agreement of Child Education Technicians has been strengthened precisely in the past local legislature: “When we arrived at the City Government there were 65 technicians, with Gloria Rojas going up to 75, and we also managed to get them to start at the beginning of the course, something that previously did not happen.”
Specialized care
In his speech he also highlighted the agreement to support students of Special Education, with 25 technicians who attend to students with specific needs. As he recalled, this initiative was promoted precisely with a Ministry of Education when it was managed by the socialists and adds to the resources provided by the Ministry of Education with new specialized care classrooms and professionals of Hearing and Language (AL) and Therapeutic Pedagogy (PT).
Another of the points addressed was the School Nursing agreement, which he described as “necessary and important”, while explaining that, although it was launched by the City, “it was drafted quickly and quickly and there were many fringes to resolve”, so it was necessary to work together with the Provincial Directorate, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Health to improve it. Among these adjustments, the provision of suitable spaces for nurses in the centers and coordination through a professional with experience in the CEIP Reina Sofía, of state ownership, has apostilled.
Fernández Treviño has insisted that the Ministry has also made a millionaire bet on Vocational Training, doubling resources and training cycles. For all of these reasons, he stressed that the City’s collaboration must be undertaken normally: “It is logical and normal that the Autonomous City of Melilla makes a certain financial contribution and also collaborates in the educational field, but this is not to complain; here we win as a city all and all”.
Finally, he called on President Imbroda to take a constructive and loyal approach to institutional relations: “We must tell Mr. Imbroda that all this is an interinstitutional collaboration that must work and be strengthened in a loyal way, that affects and benefits the citizens,” he argued.