Two years after the plan to adapt to high temperatures, 329 educational centres in the Canary Islands have shaded areas, but this figure barely reaches 38.5% of the total. Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Graciosa, La Gomera, and El Hierro already have all their schools covered.
The Ministry of Education of the Canary Islands Government has managed to exceed the initial objective of the adaptation plan for educational centres to high temperatures, but progress remains insufficient. Of the 279 centres initially planned, 329 now have shaded areas or have ongoing works. However, this figure barely represents 38.5% of the total number of schools and institutes in the Archipelago, according to data provided by the General Directorate of Infrastructure and Equipment.
The plan, launched two years ago, includes the renaturalisation of spaces and interventions on facades to create shaded areas. To prioritise interventions, Education has taken into account the level of solar radiation in each area. Thus, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, the islands with the highest radiation and temperatures, along with the south of El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and the east of La Palma, have been the priority territories.
The General Director of Infrastructure and Equipment, Iván González, has confirmed that all schools and institutes in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Graciosa, La Gomera, and El Hierro already have shaded areas or are undergoing construction. González has indicated that throughout this year, another 150 centres are expected to be added, which would raise coverage to 56% of the total.
Despite these advances, state funding for the climate control of public schools has generated dissatisfaction within the Canary Government. The Council of Ministers approved at the end of last month the distribution of 200 million euros among the autonomous communities to improve the energy efficiency of educational centres. The Canary Islands received only nine million, an amount that the Minister of Education, Poli Suárez, described as insufficient and led him to demand that it be raised to 20 million.
According to Iván González, the ministry has distributed the funds based on the number of centres in each community, without considering climatic differences. “Since this is a matter related to climate control, other factors should be assessed, as a territory like the Canary Islands or Extremadura is not the same as one in Galicia or the Basque Country,” he pointed out.
The Canary Government finances the adaptation plan mainly with its own funds but considers that state contributions are key to speeding up actions. The Ministry of Education has proposed to the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge that the climatic reality of each area be taken into account when distributing funds.
Looking ahead to the next school year, the forecast is that more than half of the educational centres in the Canary Islands will have shaded areas. However, the Ministry reminds that there is still work to be done to ensure the protection of students against high temperatures, especially in the eastern islands and the southern areas of the western islands.
The adaptation plan also includes measures such as the installation of awnings, planting trees, and improving natural ventilation in classrooms. The Ministry has encouraged local councils to collaborate in the renaturalisation of school environments, a measure it considers essential to combat the increasingly frequent heat waves in the Archipelago.
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