The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, inaugurated this Friday the new Minerva school in Lleida, which began operating in September and which integrates the centers of Balàfia and Pinyana.
In his speech before the nearly 400 students at the school, Aragonès highlighted the work and commitment of the Government so that "all children in the country have the same rights and opportunities."
In this sense, he mentioned the 11 new schools, apart from the one in Lleida, that have been launched this year throughout the country.
The president visited the center accompanied by the Minister of Education, Anna Simó, and the mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa, among other institutional authorities.
Pere Aragonès has visited several classrooms at the center where he has been able to speak with students and find out their opinion about the new facilities, which as of this year are already a reality six years after the transfer of the land by the council to Education.
During the opening ceremony, the president emphasized the need to have "strong schools" so that the country's children can have "the same rights and opportunities" regardless of where they live.
For her part, the director of the educational center, Anna Moseguí, explained that the center educates the first generations of recently arrived families, and therefore, considers that they have the duty to guarantee "coexistence, social cohesion, coeducation and well-being "of the students. "Only in this way can we guarantee a good foundation on which to build their future life projects," she said.
In this sense, Moseguí has celebrated that with the new facilities they can deploy their educational project in all its fullness. "We have spaces and resources to offer innovative, competent, inclusive, equitable and quality education," said the director.
On the other hand, the mayor of the city, Fèlix Larrosa, explained that although the center has taken six years to become a reality, "the building is fantastic."
However, he regretted that the work on the sidewalk leading to the new center has not yet been completed and added that he will maintain contact so that it can be ready within a few days.
Escola Minerva was born from the merger of Escola Pinyana and Escola Balàfia, which became effective in the 2022-2023 academic year. Then the two buildings were used, because the new school building was not finished: it was in the current 2023-2024 academic year when it came into operation.
The Minister of Education, Anna Simó, highlighted that "the school is called Minerva after the Roman goddess of wisdom and education." The center is named Minerva in memory of the school founded by Victorina Vila and Frederic Godàs in 1911. The founding couple launched the Liceo Escolar - primary, secondary, adult school - and later the Minerva School with the aim of teaching to girls, due to the high illiteracy rates among girls.
The councilor recalled that it was "a modern school, which was concerned with educating girls and which represented an attempt at pedagogical renewal and modernization that left a good memory in the city of Lleida. We like that the school of the 21st century reflects that legacy".
The school has had an investment of 5,585,664 euros. It is a building with a ground floor and first floor, occupying an area of 3,600 square meters. It has the particularity that the entry of natural light and ventilation through skylights has been designed in some areas such as the hallway on the first floor. The students made their contributions through a competition of black and white drawings that have been captured on the curved surfaces of these skylights.
The center currently has 6 preschool education groups and 12 primary education groups - in total, 18 groups -, and has 363 enrolled students - 104 in preschool and 259 in primary school.
