Rural Education Support Lacking: Families Disappointed After Basque Parliament Debate

For months, the center's families have been demanding solutions for students with special educational needs in Montaña Alavesa. Their primary request is to maintain educational support resources throughout Compulsory Secondary Education, preventing students from having to leave their reference center after the 3rd year of ESO to continue receiving necessary specialized attention.

However, "the government parties (EAJ-PNV and PSE-EE) used their majority to approve their amendment, which urges the Department of Education to continue developing the inclusive model outlined in Decree 78/2024 and to keep applying the same principles and criteria throughout the territory. The outcome of the debate means that everything will remain the same, without offering concrete answers to the problems currently faced by rural centers," they emphasized.

Specifically, families denounce that the elimination of certain educational supports from the 3rd year of ESO is based on ratios set by the Department of Education that "do not take into account the demographic reality of rural schools." This situation leads to students with special educational needs losing fundamental resources for their academic and personal development.

They also lament that amendments proposed by opposition groups, which sought to strengthen specialized resources, ensure more adequate diversity support in rural centers, and crucially, guarantee that these students would not have to leave their environment to complete compulsory secondary education, did not succeed.

The families recall that this situation has serious consequences for the students and the entire region. On one hand, it forces children to leave the educational environment where they have grown and developed their personal and social bonds. On the other, it pushes many families to undertake long daily commutes or even consider relocating outside their towns to ensure adequate education for their children.