The Guaza barracones, the last educational center that exists in the Canary Islands built entirely with prefabricated modules, has its months numbered 21 years after being inaugurated as a “provisional” solution to face the population boom of the region at the beginning of the century.
Starting next year, the Parque La Reina Secondary School will welcome its students and teachers, who will leave behind a nightmare that has lasted too long in some thirty classrooms with serious technical deficiencies. They will no longer have to suffer unbearable temperatures, suspend classes when it rains due to water leaks, nor will the floors and walls vibrate, nor will the pipes in the bathrooms burst any more.
After an investment of 7.9 million euros, the new educational center in Arona was presented yesterday at an event attended by the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres; the Minister of Education, Manuela Armas, and the mayor of Arona, José Julián Mena, among other authorities, as well as the director of IES Guaza, Goreti Ramos, and representatives of the construction company.
After a delay of three years and three months on the expected deadline for completing the work, which was practically stopped for almost two years due to the pandemic and, above all, due to the modification of the project and the consequent upward revision of the budget requested by the company Proyecon Galicia, yesterday there was an atmosphere of relief among the attendees, although representatives of parents of students, who have staged numerous protests due to the slowness of the work, did not have all of them with them: “When I see this full of children and Girls, I’ll believe it”, commented one of its members during a tour of the premises.
While waiting for the Government of the Canary Islands to receive the official notification of the completion of the works by the winning company to process the reception of the center, the new institute will offer students large common spaces and complete equipment spread over the 9,620 meters built squares of the 14,126 urbanization. It will be made up of 31 units (nine more than initially planned) and up to 800 students will study there, although the forecast is that 740 students and 72 teachers will start it from September.
The building consists of three floors and a basement. It has a total of 53 classrooms, including computer, music or plastic spaces, as well as a library, a technology workshop, laboratories, a language classroom and a cafeteria. It also has a covered pavilion, an assembly hall, a wrestling arena, an orchard, garden areas, car parks and playgrounds.
“The completion is exemplary and I am happy for the education in the Islands and, especially, in the south of Tenerife, especially for the struggle of the teaching team, the mothers, fathers and the students, who will now fill this center of joy while they continue with their personal training”, said Ángel Víctor Torres at the end of the visit, who indicated that it is the largest institute on the Islands.
For her part, the counselor Manuela Armas highlighted the “fair demand of the educational community of the area after so many years in those barracks” and praised the conditions of the institute: “It is a magnificent center, with all the modernity it can have and for start from September. It was time”.
José Julián Mena remarked that the units provide “dignity to education in the area by making the barracks disappear.” The mayor of Arona recalled the day the first stone was laid, in which he participated, and thanked the Canarian president for “giving everything” to move the infrastructure forward.
The act concluded with a request from the vice president of the Cabildo, Berta Pérez: “I make a proposal to the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, who I am almost sure will continue to be Ángel Víctor, so that the opening of the next school year is here.” Torres responded with a smile.
