The president proposes that the councils promote a joint strategy to guarantee a sufficient and affordable residential offer to students who must travel to study higher education, especially in Tenerife
The initiative contemplates the creation, acquisition, rehabilitation or agreement of places in university and higher education residences
The president of the Cabildo de La Gomera, Casimiro Curbelo, has proposed the implementation of a joint strategy among the island councils to expand the offer of accommodation for Canarian students who must move to the capital islands to pursue university or higher education.
Curbelo has requested that this issue be incorporated into the agenda of an upcoming assembly of the Canary Islands Federation (FECAI), with the aim of analyzing inter-administrative collaboration formulas that allow the creation of new residential places and respond to the needs of students from the different islands.
The proposal proposes to study different alternatives, including the promotion and construction of residences, the acquisition or rehabilitation of real estate and the agreement of places with existing centers. It also seeks to establish a stable framework of cooperation between island administrations that guarantees a sufficient and economically accessible supply.
Curbelo said that access to higher education continues to represent "an important economic effort for many Canarian families," especially for those residents of the non-capital islands, whose families must bear the costs of accommodation, subsistence and displacement.
"The place of residence or the economic capacity of a family cannot condition the training possibilities of our young people," he said. In this regard, he warned that the increase in rents and the reduction in the supply of housing for students are making it increasingly difficult to continue higher education outside the island of origin.
The president recalled that this problem affects in a special way the students of La Gomera, El Hierro, La Palma, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, who must face the cost overruns derived from the double insularity. "The creation of new residential squares in Tenerife and Gran Canaria is a necessary measure to advance equality of opportunity and territorial cohesion in the Canary Islands," said Curbelo.
