The Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Pilar Alegría, has praised the effort, commitment and passion that the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, the Diputación de Cuenca and the Fuentenava de Jábaga City Council (Cuenca) have put in to recover the rural school of the locality, at the same time that he has called on the institutions to maintain this type of education in the rural areas of the country.
“It is a hymn to hope, because what is being done here today is to launch a message about depopulated Spain”, highlighted the minister during the inauguration of the section of the Rural School Agrupado ‘Elena Fortún’ in Jábaga (Cuenca) east Monday, an inauguration that has returned the school to the mountain town 49 years after the previous school in the town was closed.
Alegría has highlighted that in recent years, “thanks to the impulse of the governments of Castilla-La Mancha and Spain, it is betting on education in rural areas, with a total of 73,000 enrolled students”.
The national head of Education has promulgated that “all students in the country have the right to receive the same quality of education”, regardless of where they live, and that this can only be guaranteed by public schools. Hence, he has made a plea in favor of this type of education, underlining that what is experienced in Jábaga is “the greatness of the public school”, the only one that reaches all corners of the country, “giving a true training of excellence and allowing equity “.
Greatness of the Public School
For this reason, he has asked all the institutions to keep this type of school alive , “to take care of it with affection and with the same love that one has to start it.” Moreover, during the inauguration of this rural school in the province of Cuenca has asked that the inhabitants and institutions of this place “feel proud and be an example” for those other localities in which there is still no rural school, convinced that ” when there is passion, and commitment, it becomes a reality. “
Along these lines, he thanked the President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, for his “involvement in rural education”, which is allowing “all the children of the community, whether in classrooms with 4 or 25 students , they can enjoy the right to education close to their family and with the best teachers “.
Alegría has also referred to the mayor of the town of Jábaga, José Luis Chamón, describing as “a feat” having managed to reopen his rural school 49 years after the last promotion. “It is a hymn to hope, because what is being done here today is to launch a message about depopulated Spain.”
The minister, who was also a student at a rural school in a small town in Zaragoza, stressed that as long as there are projects, life can be continued in the towns, “and people will be able to continue doing the project of their lives in those localities in where they were born, be it city or town “.
The effort of the rural school stands out
And it is that the minister, who has assured to attend this event not as the national head of Education but in a personal capacity, like Pilar Alegría, has recalled her time at the rural school and “the struggle and effort” that this space entails for all the inhabitants of those towns “so that it does not close”, as well as “the amount of hopes, dreams and illusions that disappear when it closes.”
That said, he has referred to Mia, Sara, Pablo, Adriana, Blanca, Carlos, Héctor, Mateo, Michael Daniel and Bruno, students of this grouped rural center, as “the true protagonists” of the day.
“You are extremely lucky to come here, to this school, to be close to your family and to a wonderful environment like Jágaba. Take advantage of this opportunity and do not lose your enthusiasm for education, you will get where you want,” he ended up advising the minister.
