Two-thirds of the teachers at the Alfons Costafreda Institute in Tàrrega voted against the initiative promoted by the Generalitat. This decision, confirmed by sources close to the center, positions the institute in the capital of l'Urgell alongside the Margarida Xirgu in l'Hospitalet, which has also declined to participate in the project.
The Department of Education has confirmed that both centers have formally requested not to be part of the program. Meanwhile, another institute in Baix Llobregat has asked to join, reducing the total number of participants from 14 to 13. In the Lleida region, the Manuel de Pedrolo Institute in Tàrrega, as well as centers in Agramunt, Bellpuig, and Vielha, and the Escòla d'Ostaleria de Les, continue to participate.
In parallel, the teaching staff of three institutes in Vic also reportedly rejected the measure unanimously, according to union sources, and a fourth center plans to vote on it next week. The majority education union in Catalonia, Ustec-Stes, has indicated that four institutes have now expressed their rejection of the proposal.
“"There is no problem of coexistence or security in Catalonia, much less in its educational environments."
The entity Desmilitaritzem l'Educació denounced in Lleida that the pilot program stigmatizes public education, as the measure is not applied to subsidized private schools. A spokesperson for the entity described the initiative as “unpresentable,” recalling that the Catalan Education Law of 2017 established an investment of 6% of the GDP in this area, a percentage not reached by 2026.
