Education and universities councillor makes first visit to island

visita conseller educacioEarlier today, members of the Formentera Council —President Jaume Ferrer and councillor of education Susana Labrador— had the opportunity to meet with several visiting representatives of the Govern Balear. From the autonomous government in Palma, education and universities councillor Martí March, education delegate in Eivissa and Formentera Margalida Ferrer, director general of planning and administrations Antonio Morante and director general of innovation and educational communities Jaume Ribas Seguí were all present for gatherings with the local administration.

Top priority: Sant Ferran school
At the encounter, President Ferrer articulated the requests of the local educational community. “The priority is building a new school in Sant Ferran. We have pushed for this for years and are anxious see it happen. The sooner the better,” Ferrer explained after the meeting.

Moreover, the Consell Insular de Formentera (CiF) administration appealed to Councillor March to make an effort in the coming year “to bolster the number of technical programmes available. These are programmes that have suffered cutbacks four years running”. Ferrer voiced his appreciation for the education councillor's visit and the amenable nature of the talks, which he noted were a far cry from those of the previous legislative sitting, “when not one of the three education office councillors in Palma made an official visit to Formentera”.

Cooperation between administrations
For his part, the Govern Balear's education councillor said the visit was necessary in order to start “formulating an idea about the real needs present here on Formentera”. Following such analysis, he said, the goal will be “to create a road map —for both the medium and long term— to meet those needs”. March indicated the smooth communication enjoyed by the Palma and Formentera administrations “will be key for our work together in the future”.

Councillor March assured that the 2016 budget would include funding for construction of the new Sant Ferran school, stating, “[this is] a plan we want to make sure moves forward. We will do whatever it takes to ensure it happens as soon as possible”. March also expressed his sympathy for the push to increase the number of technical courses of study available on the island — and to add an arts module to the batxillerat programme of Formentera's secondary school. Having completed the day's talks with Formentera Council officials, March went on to meet with representatives of the educational community on the island.