President of the Formentera Council, Jaume Ferrer, accompanied by Sònia Cardona, councillor of education and culture, have traveled to Palma de Mallorca today to meet with Núria Riera, recently-appointed regional minister of education to the Govern Balear.

In addition to wishing the minister luck in her new position and officiating the first visit by Formentera councilmembers since Riera's appointment, president Ferrer and councilwoman Cardona's intent at the outset was to learn the calendar of action for the pending Sant Ferran school rebuild. At the most recent Formentera plenary, Palma's local delegate – José Manuel Alcaraz – remained silent as to whether or not a line item for construction of a new primary school would be included the Govern's budget.

In the words of Jaume Ferrer, the issue is “of fundamental importance for three reasons. First, [the stalled construction] means that our students are receiving instruction in obsolete facilities. Second, it effects a de facto paralysation of plans for the Sant Ferran nursery school. And third, the stall has hindered the redevelopment of the Sant Ferran town centre. When this rebuild takes place, the grounds of the school's current location will be used for cultural programming and municipal services. These are changes that will be important not only for the people of Formentera, but for the island in general.”

Riera – whom the two Formentera councilmembers found receptive – acknowledged that the Govern's budget didn't include money for the construction, while still leaving open a window of possibility. The regional minister of Education asserted that the Govern's budgets for the current calendar were not yet finalised, and thus, the inclusion of a new line item to start construction could not be discarded. Riera also said that the draft project for rebuilding the Sant Ferran primary school was expected within the coming weeks, and that the project itself would be elaborated over the course of 2015.

After the meeting, Ferrer and Cardona said that the Formentera Council would no longer hold back plans for the new nursery school: “These are two educational centres whose construction ought to be coordinated, but even with the expansion of the Sa Miranda nursery school in Sant Francesc, the growth of Formentera's local population has made a second nursery an unquestionable necessity. We will now do everything in our power to make it a reality, even if the Govern fails to do the same vis-à-vis the new primary school.”

Councillor Cardona indicated that she had also spoken with Riera on a series of other issues in education that still await resolution. Among these, adequate facilities for students of Formentera's technical programme in cooking and resources for the Catalan self-study point were among the first issues discussed. Currently, the space at the Marià Villangómez Library is funded entirely by the Formentera Council, which already assumes instruction costs for more than 180 students of Catalan. Moreover, Formentera's is the only self-study point in the Balearics whose maintenance is not administered by the Govern. Cardona also raised the issue of adding a new instrument to the list of those available for study at the Formentera Conservatory of Music. She explained: “We asked the Govern to make a similar effort to the one our own council has made with the School of Music, which has recently added 'school of dance' to its résumé.”

Riera apparently demonstrated a willingness to dialogue on the different issues and committed to providing clear and straightforward answers to them all, alluding to a visit to Formentera planned for the very near future.

In light of the three sentences, issued 22 September 2014, by the Contentious Administrative Hall of the Balearic Islands Superior Court of Justice declaring null and void Decree 15/2013 [19 April] which regulates the use of languages at non-university educational centres in the Balearic Islands (known as Decret TIL), and in light of the sentence issued on the present date, which declares null and void the order that established the implementation of the Decret TIL, the Formentera Island Council wishes to state the following:

1. The court rulings, in addition to nullifying the Decret TIL, state that application of the decree “is of considerable significance for the Catalan language because it effects an undermining of the use of Catalan in the educational process and a reduction in the use of Catalan in teaching.” The sentence (number 443) continues: “...from this perspective, if it is the duty of the public administration to ensure linguistic normalisation in the Balearic Islands, a change from a bilingualist to trilingualist educational model, whose objective it is that the citizens of tomorrow achieve a total and perfect command of three languages – the two official languages and one foreign, this a response to recommendations by the European Union as well as to the undeniable fact that European citizens are at present obliged a certain familiarity with the language of greatest influence in the European context – must also surely impact the process of linguistic normalisation.”

2. The TSJIB ruling finds that insofar as the Catalan language and its normalisation in the educational context is affected, the Decret TIL impacts the assessorial and preceptive functions assigned to the Universitat de les Illes Balears by article 35 of the Balearic Islands Statute of Autonomy.

3. The rulings issued by the TSJIB find that Decree 15/2013 [19 April] (Decret TIL), which regulates the use of languages at non-university educational centres in the Balearic Islands, as well as the secondary order establishing the implementation of that decree, contained neither the scientific, nor the academic, nor the pedagogical consideration required of such a decree.

4. The Formentera Island Council, as manifested on numerous occasions through plenary accords and through its participation in the Consell Escolar de les Illes Balears (Academic Council of the Balearic Islands), opposed the development of the TIL, its lack of necessary financial support –a fact also mentioned in the TSJIB sentences–, and the precipitated manner in which the new linguistic projects were imposed on educational centres. Moreover, the Formentera Island Council holds firm in its conviction that no change to the educational model shall be imposed if it is detrimental to the process of linguistic normalisation of the language of the Balearic Islands, nor shall a change be imposed if it represents an aggression to the agents comprising the educational system. The future of our students is too important, and the autonomy of our educational centres and that of their respective academic councils -the most informed parties with respect to local linguistic circumstances- must be respected.

5. It is therefore our conviction that the sentences handed down today and yesterday by the TSJIB are an opportunity for the Govern Balear to reflect and reconsider its decisions in a manner that values consensus.

Radio stations and other comments: Sònia Cardona, councillor of Education of the Formentera Council, 666155829

The Formentera Council, by way of its Linguistic Assessment Service, has opened enrolment for a series of Catalan courses to be given at the local Escola d'Adults (school for adults). Enrolment ends 3 October, just a few days before the first classes are scheduled to begin.

The classes were created with the goal of making Catalan study available to anyone interested. During the 2013-2014 academic calendar, the number of students attending classes or having attended at some point reached one hundred twenty. Students can enrol at the Citizen Information Office (la OAC) or either one of the Linguistic Assessment Service's two information points, located at the office of culture and the Escola d'Adults.

This year, there are a total of nine Catalan courses available. Timetables vary from morning to evening and all language levels are offered. The beginner's level course (A2) will be divided into three different groups as will Intermediate Catalan (B1-B2). Advanced Catalan (C1-C2) will be split into two different groups, and a conversation group will also be organised. The most exciting change this year is the coordination between the Linguistic Assessment Service and the school for adults.

The anticipated timetables for the different courses are as follows: Elementary Catalan (A2), Mondays and Wednesdays, [1] 5:15-6:15pm or [2] 8:15-9:15pm; or Tuesdays and Thursdays, [3] 9:15-10:15am. Intermediate Catalan – a combination of both the B1 and B2 levels – will be offered either as a mixed-level group Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:15-7:15pm, or as two split groups: (B1) Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:15-11:15am; and (B2) 11:15am-12:15pm.

As for the two mixed-level C1-C2 courses, they will be given Mondays and Wednesdays, 7:15-8:15pm, or Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:15-1:15pm. Finally, the conversation group will meet Wednesdays from 9:15-10:15am.

All of the courses are free, and, depending on the group, will start on either 6 or 7 October, while end dates are contingent upon the official testing schedules dictated by the Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics. At the present moment, two rounds of official Catalan exams are anticipated: one in February and one in May, 2015.

Sa Miranda nursery school (known commonly as l'escoleta) which falls under the administration of the Formentera Island Council's office of education, opened its doors this morning to pupils and proceeded through the first day of the 2014-2015 school year without a hitch.

For 58 pupils, today was the first day of classes ever. Counting the centre's 40 returning students, Sa Miranda will take in a total of 98 students the 2014-15 academic year. The Sa Miranda centre is composed of one classroom for newborns, three classrooms for ages 1-2 and three for 2-3 year olds.

This year's enrolment figures represent an increase of 18 pupils compared to last year (when a total of 80 were registered). The increase was made possible thanks to remodel work performed at the school in July and August. The changes – a new classroom, a new cafeteria and a more hygienic vinyl flooring in the centre's oldest classrooms, as well as general maintenance and a new paint job – have left Sa Miranda shining. The total cost of these improvements was 90,000€.

With teacher-pupil ratios unchanged, the physical remodel of Sa Miranda is not expected to negatively impact the quality of education there. To ensure this continued quality, the Council of Formentera has hired two new educators, bringing the total number of teachers at the centre to twelve.

Sa Miranda nursery school is an educational centre belonging to the network of public nurseries in the Balearic Islands. The pedagogy employed at the school -and the style of organisation- are founded on the principle of the right of the child to receive an education that is constructed around his real needs (physical, psychological, emotional, personal, intellectual, social, etc.)

It is the hope of the educational staff at Sa Miranda that the centre be a place of mutual respect for different cultures, non-discriminatory and democratic, where equal opportunities are promoted for all pupils and full respect is given the surrounding natural, social and cultural environments.

The Formentera Island Council devotes a substantial part of the office of education's annual budget to the administration of the Sa Miranda nursery school. Yearly funding for the centre tops 460,000€, and the largest portion of that amount goes to staff hiring. In 2013, the Formentera Island Council received 3,733.26€ from the Govern Balear in Palma for maintenance of public centres of early education like Sa Miranda.