The PSOE demands that Toni Pérez clarify the status of the plot of land transferred to the Generalitat in 2022 for the new Official School of Languages (EOI)

The Socialist Municipal Group at Benidorm City Council has once again demanded that Mayor Toni Pérez provide explanations about the actual status of the project to build a new Official School of Languages (EOI) in the city. The Socialists recalled that it was in 2022 that the mayor himself announced the revival of the project and the start of the procedure to transfer a municipal plot of land to the Valencian Regional Government for the construction of the new centre. However, four years later, nothing more has been heard about that process.

Socialist deputy spokesperson Sergi Castillo has criticised the secrecy and inaction of the Partido Popular administration, arguing that the City Council’s lack of follow-up has left this long-awaited educational facility in a worrying administrative limbo. Castillo stressed that Benidorm residents do not know whether the plot that was transferred has been approved by the regional Department of Education, nor whether it meets the minimum requirements needed to construct a building that can meet the city’s needs in the long term.

Against this backdrop, the Socialist councillor has denounced the alarming precariousness and inadequacy of the Benidorm EOI, whose current facilities are completely outdated, overwhelmed and overcrowded. The shortage of classrooms is particularly acute because the school shares the same building with the UNED, a situation that limits the expansion of its educational provision. “In 2022, Toni Pérez was quick to revive the promise of the plot to claim credit for his management, but the reality is that, to this day, we know nothing. Given how accustomed we are to announcements without concrete results, such as the new Vasco Núñez building, what is striking in this case is the deafening silence that has persisted throughout this time. While Toni Pérez looks the other way, students and teachers are suffering from an unsustainable lack of space and overcrowding that is unbecoming of a leading tourist city like Benidorm,” he said.

Castillo also placed particular emphasis on the situation facing the Spanish for Foreigners department. As a highly cosmopolitan city with a significant international resident population, demand for places to learn Spanish consistently exceeds the school’s organisational capacity, resulting in lengthy waiting lists that carry over from year to year without the regional Department of Education implementing effective solutions or increasing the number of groups.

For all these reasons, the deputy spokesperson has called on the municipal government to clarify what happened with the transfer process initiated in 2022 and, furthermore, to demand that the Valencian Regional Government build a dedicated facility for the Official School of Languages. In this regard, Castillo warned that, should the plot originally selected fail to meet the appropriate planning or technical requirements, the City Council must immediately begin looking for alternative plots and expedite a new transfer in order to prevent any further deterioration of Benidorm’s educational provision.