The opposition denounces that Palma has stopped executing 2 million for 0-3 education and has lost nursery school places

PalmaThe PSIB, MÉS per Mallorca, and Unides Podem denounced this Tuesday the situation of public education for 0-3 year olds in Palma, with criticism focused on the lack of budget execution and the reduction of places during the current legislature. The three parties appeared jointly to express their support for the public model of nursery schools and the demands of the workers, and warned of a "setback" in a stage they consider key for the development of children.

The PSIB councilor, Silvana González, has focused on municipal economic management and has assured that “in recent days we have learned that two million euros have not been executed, and this means fewer resources, less furniture, and less equipment”. As she explained, this lack of investment has a direct impact on the service families receive, as “not only are more places not being created, but some are being closed; today we have fewer than at the beginning of the legislature”, a situation that, in her opinion, shows a negative change of course in municipal educational policies.

For MÉS per Palma, Kika Coll wanted to contextualize the importance of the debate and stressed that “we are talking about a key stage for the neurodevelopment of children” and that, therefore, “it is not just the present, it is the future”. Coll defended the need to strengthen the public nursery school system with a clear and sustained commitment: “We defend a dignified and quality public education”, she stated, before recalling that “for decades the Patronat has been a tool to support families and children, but it has fewer and fewer resources”, which, as she warned, puts its function at risk.

For dignified conditions

The spokesperson for Unides Podem, Lucía Muñoz, focused her speech on the labor situation of the workers and on the management model. Muñoz expressed support for recent mobilizations: “We support their demands”, she said, and recalled that “a year ago they were already demanding improvements and they were promised a series of measures that, to this day, have not been fulfilled”. In this regard, she defended a structural change in the organization of the service: “We are committed to a public and public management model” and added that the remunicipalization of indirectly managed nursery schools “is the way to manage economic and human resources more effectively, adapting to the reality of each center”.

Muñoz has also warned of the consequences of the current situation for the entire system, pointing out that “it concerns us the lack of resources, the lack of investment in infrastructure, the non-compliance with agreements with outsourced workers, and the lack of coordination of the government team”, a set of factors that, he said, are causing “a deterioration of the 0-3 nursery model”. Along the same lines, the three formations have agreed to demand a shift in municipal policies to reverse this trend.

Finally, the representatives of PSIB, MÉS per Mallorca, and Unides Podem have defended the need to act urgently to protect the public early childhood education system. “Our proposal is to stop the degradation of the public 0-3 model and guarantee the rights of children and workers”, they stated, before concluding with a shared warning: “Either public education is defended, or its deterioration is contributed to”.