Fuerteventura backs a Canary-wide residence hall plan through FECAI to tackle the cost of double insularity
FECAI also addressed the processing of island agreements with the Government of the Canary Islands and agreed to demand the resumption of the SIVE surveillance system in Lanzarote North
The president of the Cabildo de Fuerteventura, Lola García, has expressed her support for launching a joint strategy among the island councils on university accommodation. The strategy, which would create residential places for university and higher education students from non-capital islands, was discussed today at the Assembly of the Federación Canaria de Islas (FECAI), on a proposal put forward by the president of the Cabildo de La Gomera, Casimiro Curbelo.
According to Lola García, “guaranteeing access to higher education is a shared responsibility of the various administrations. From Fuerteventura, we want to drive forward solutions that respond to the real needs of our students. Accommodation must not be a barrier that limits our young people’s access to education.”
The high costs of accommodation and travel, combined with a shortage of available places on the university islands, represent a barrier for many Canarian families and make it harder to ensure that place of residence does not determine access to education, “especially on non-capital islands such as Fuerteventura, which are affected by double insularity,” the island president noted.
In this regard, the recently approved Ley de Cabildos (Island Councils Act) grants the island corporations powers to promote university and higher education residences on other islands, “which allows us to develop policies aimed at guaranteeing equal opportunities in access to education and to respond to a reality that affects hundreds of young people and Canarian families every year.”
García also stressed the need to keep strengthening Fuerteventura’s university infrastructure in order to encourage the introduction of new degree courses, retain talent, and support the island’s economic and social development.
Plenary agreement
Lola García recalled that, last July, the Cabildo de Fuerteventura’s plenary session approved an institutional declaration to drive forward the development of university infrastructure on the island and, at the same time, to promote a joint strategy with Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro to advance the creation of a network of student residences in Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
Other FECAI agreements
During the meeting, the island councils also discussed the Government of the Canary Islands’ new draft regulation for progressing the drafting of the island agreements. After presenting their submissions, they agreed to ask the Government to speed up the process so that the final document can be ready and the agreements formalised on 28 October.
FECAI also agreed to request a meeting with the Ministry of the Interior to demand the resumption of works on the SIVE surveillance system in Lanzarote North, which have been stalled since 2023. The island councils of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura will convey the need to unblock this infrastructure, which is considered essential for strengthening surveillance and security along the islands’ coastlines.
