Orihuela opened a discussion this Friday about educational policy aimed at expanding offerings, modernizing infrastructure, and boosting local participation in schooling. The comments came from Joan Baldoví, the presidential candidate of the Generalitat for Compromís, a key partner within Cambiemos, who also took part in a rally in Los Verdes, Torrevieja. Baldoví stressed the need to strengthen the municipality’s education framework and to increase early childhood education spaces, reserve land for new centers, reinforce public facilities with pedagogical support, and expand extracurricular options with free programs so that more families can access them.
Lucía López, seventh on the Cambiemos list, and Carlos Bernabé, the mayoral candidate, emphasized that the City Council’s education projects are essential for moving toward a more inclusive and higher quality public education system. Bernabé outlined three urgent actions: first, to allocate land for municipal facilities such as kindergartens; second, to ensure central, well located spaces for facilities including CEFIRE and the Adult School; and third, to expand the public education offer in Orihuela Costa. He noted that persistent urban planning limitations have hampered the creation of decent educational facilities, a concern that demands swift attention.
Bernabé also called for stronger collaboration with the Ministry to accelerate investments in this sector. He described a coordinated Plan and Project framework in which the Generalitat contributes to the budget while municipal councils manage the bidding process for new facilities or rehabilitation work at existing centers. This approach would streamline execution and improve oversight of both construction and renewal efforts.
Investments
The ministry has already committed substantial resources. Baldoví highlighted an investment of one hundred million euros across sixty-eight scenarios for community centers in Vega Baja, with more than twenty projects located in Orihuela. This funding not only raises the quality of educational spaces but also supports employment for about two thousand five hundred people across the region. Baldoví indicated that this investment pace would continue, with plans to expand staffing in public health education and to implement measures that ease access to housing for educators and their families.
As examples of progress, Bernabé cited the CEIP Virgen de la Puerta, noting that in recent years local governments did not always align with the Edificant Plan. He argued that greater local leadership could have unlocked a more effective rollout and avoided delays that affected several primary schools, including the Dolses project, which faced repeated postponements under previous city planning cycles. The emphasis remained on timely execution and clear calendars to prevent future bottlenecks across the board.
In closing, the speakers urged strengthening and increasing resources and personnel in frontline education services. They warned that relying solely on large contracts could diminish service quality and accountability. The aim is to preserve personalized care and to ensure that maintenance and operation of facilities remain efficient, transparent, and focused on local needs. The message was clear: well-supported public education benefits the entire community and strengthens the region’s social and economic fabric, now and in the years ahead. The remarks were attributed to Baldoví and Bernabé as representatives of their coalition and local leadership, with attention to ongoing reforms and future commitments for Orihuela’s schools.