Adapting educational institutions in the south of Tenerife to climate change has become a pressing concern for the local educational community. The increasing frequency of heat waves during spring and summer, alongside a rise in the number of sunny days each year and episodes of haze, compel schools and colleges to take measures to protect students from adverse weather that not only affects their academic success but also their overall health.
In an interview with this newspaper published on December 29, the regional Minister of Education, Poli Suárez, recalled that classes were suspended for the first time in the Canary Islands at the start of last year due to a series of consecutive days of extreme temperatures. This decision was made after teachers and parents alerted the Ministry about instances of “fainting and nosebleeds” occurring within classrooms.
The following step involved the formulation of a strategy to approve a specific plan outlining how educators and management teams should respond during extreme heat situations. Initially, an action protocol was introduced in April 2024, and by September 3, five months later, the ministries of Education and Ecological Transition jointly unveiled a plan amounting to 30.8 million euros, which includes measures such as systematic assessments of the environmental conditions at the schools, the installation of cooling systems (fans and air conditioning), the use of renewable energy sources, and the creation of shaded areas through awnings, pergolas, or canopies.
Concern over the absence of shade structures in school playgrounds has grown among parents and teachers alike, who are witnessing a rise in temperature peaks. This has led to demands for safe and healthy environments for children during breaks and outdoor sessions. Poli Suárez acknowledged in the DIARIO DE AVISOS interview that there are institutions where “there is no shade whatsoever, not even a tree.”
The financing for the plan, which also includes a training segment on the implications and outcomes of global warming, will come from the European Union (European Regional Development Fund and Recovery and Resilience Mechanism) and the Autonomous Community itself, according to the regional educational department.
The Ministry of Education clarifies that the protocol will be implemented across all schools in the Canary Islands; however, the initial improvement and adaptation efforts “will only be executed where it is most critical, based on an analysis of the environmental conditions of the various facilities.”
The implications of climate change are also taken into account for the 10 new institutions set to be established in the South by 2031, as well as the expansion plans for another 17 schools and institutes, all included in the Educational Infrastructure Shock Plan for South Tenerife. This plan aims to provide “a strategic and urgent solution to the pressing issue of education in the southern region, one of the most densely populated areas of the Archipelago,” the Ministry explains in the document.
The Tenerife municipalities of Arona, Adeje, San Miguel, and Granadilla, which have seen the highest population growth since the start of the 21st century, account for the bulk of the funding in the shock plan, estimated at 77,705,351 euros.
In addition to the issue of “pressure” due to a shortage of spaces resulting from the influx of population in the southern region, a new priority has emerged: the necessity to create areas where students can find shelter from the sun and heat.