The Canary Islands will receive 210,67 million euros for its investment in education during the years 2021 to 2023, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, Spain Can
The Canary Islands will receive 210,67 million euros for their investment in education during the years 2021 to 2023, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, Spain Can. The funds come from the so-called Lever VII, which generically includes the items for Education and Knowledge, Continuing Training and Skills Development. Of the total amount, 63,47 million euros correspond to the National Digital Skills Plan; 61,50 million euros will be allocated to the Strategic Plan to promote Vocational Training and 24,18 million more to Dual Vocational Training and the creation of an autonomous reference center. Finally, 61,50 million euros will be directed to the modernization and digitalization of the education system, including early education from 0 to 3 years.
At the parliamentary headquarters, the Minister of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuela Armas, explained that the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan is based on four transversal axes: ecological transition, digital transformation, territorial cohesion and social and gender equality. The document was presented at the end of April 2021 and approved by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the EU (ECOFIN), on July 13, 2021, at which time Spain began to receive the corresponding funds.
Within these four transversal axes there are ten lever policies that integrate different components or lines of action. In the educational field, Lever VII includes: “Education and Knowledge”, “Continuous Training” and “Development and Capacities” with components 19 (National Plan for Digital Skills), 20 (Strategic Plan to Promote FP) and 21 (Modernization and digitalization of the educational system).
Armas highlighted the ultimate objective of the plan to accelerate the economic and social recovery after the COVID-19 crisis and increase the capacity for growth in the medium and long term. “For this reason, together with substantial investments, a series of structural reforms have been planned whose purpose is to face the pending challenges of our country and create the appropriate conditions so that these funds are invested in the most efficient way and have the greatest possible impact” , he pointed.
performance programs
The general objective of component 19, aimed at the Digitalization of the Educational Ecosystem, is to launch the necessary mechanisms and processes to generalize and facilitate teachers and students in educational centers financed with public funds access to digital media appropriate for development. of educational activity, also providing teachers with relevant training for use in classrooms.
Regarding component 20, which is intended to promote Vocational Training, the counselor indicated that “its general objective is the transformation and modernization of the vocational training system, so that it is configured as one of the backbones of a new economic model. based on knowledge, capable of responding to the constant transformations of the productive sectors, improving the employability of workers and, by extension, improving productivity and competitiveness.”
“There is state and European support for FP, a teaching that was very abandoned in the Canary Islands years ago and very far from employability,” he commented.
He also referred to the commitment to improving Dual Vocational Training and the creation of an autonomous reference center for these teachings, which allows permanent training throughout life, "for which we will have the reinforcement of the aid package of the REACT-EU Funds”.
The counselor also alluded to the commitment of the Canary Islands Executive to promote Dual FP in the current 2021/22 academic year, increasing the offer of places in this modality (up to 2.100 places and 53 collaborating companies), with the call for scholarships for its students. (from which some 1.100 students benefited during this course) and the incorporation of prospectors, that is, a team made up of 22 teachers with experience in the management of this education, who will be in charge of putting centers and companies in contact to promote new projects in this area.
Pre-School
Component 21, aimed at modernizing the educational model, includes a program to promote schooling in the First Cycle of Early Childhood Education, with new publicly owned places, primarily for girls and boys aged 1 and 2. Priority will be given to access for students in areas with a higher incidence of risk of poverty or social exclusion and extension to rural areas.
This same action group includes the Educational Orientation, Advancement and Enrichment Program in centers of special educational complexity (PROA+ Program), which seeks to provide resources to centers that are committed to adapting their educational project to the needs of students and offering a place stimulating learning, in which personalized methodologies are strengthened, to reduce school failure and early school leaving. Thus, human resources will be reinforced, training will be provided to education professionals and the monitors who carry out these actions, and expenses allocated to complementary or extracurricular activities will increase.
Armas also referred to the Program for the creation of Personal and Family Accompaniment and Guidance Units for especially vulnerable students in the educational or psycho-pedagogical services of school zones and districts, which is part of component 21.
“It consists of individualized monitoring of the most vulnerable students in educational and family environments; "so that the Guidance Units are located in school zones or districts, taking into account the territorial organization and taking into account the uniqueness of the students in rural areas," said the counselor.