Last week, the Department of Education announced its plan to close the Laudio Goikoa center. Aintzane Arrese, the provincial representative for Education in Araba, informed the center's educational community about the decision, arguing that the building's renovation would cost two million euros. Consequently, from the next academic year, the 18 students from the Task Learning Class and the Vocational Training cycles of Aesthetics and Hairdressing, currently based at Laudio Goikoa, will have to be relocated.
This decision has caused concern and anger among the educational community in Laudio and Aiaraldea, leading to protests. On Monday, their demands were presented at the Plenary Session of the Laudio City Council, and today, a rally was held in Laudio's Plaza del Pueblo (Town Square).
The lack of clarity regarding the Department of Education's specific plans has caused distress. During today's rally, the community firmly rejected the proposal of housing Laudio Goikoa students in temporary classrooms at the Laudio Institute. They highlighted that the Laudio Institute is already overcrowded and stressed the need to consider the specific requirements of the students in the Task Learning Class. In line with this, a letter signed by the parents of the Task Learning Class, presented at Monday's City Council session, was also read out in the Town Square today.
“"We don't want temporary classrooms! We want a solution that considers the needs of the educational community! We want a real investment!"
They reaffirmed their commitment to defending Public Education and called for further mobilization among the residents of Aiaraldea. A meeting with the Department of Education is scheduled for tomorrow, and they issued a warning: "We want to make it clear that if solutions aligned with the aforementioned direction are not presented, we will continue our fight."
