Back to School in Fuerteventura: Fewer Pupils, More Teachers, and Delays in 0‑3 Year‑Old Classrooms

Nervousness, laughter and a few hiccups marked the start of the school year on 8 September as children in early childhood and primary education returned to their classrooms across the archipelago. The academic year officially began at CEIP Cristóbal García Blairzy in the municipality of Tuineje.

• Enrollment has dropped, improving student‑teacher ratios.
• The teaching staff has been expanded.
• The opening of the new 0‑to‑3‑year classrooms planned for CEIP Pájara, CEIP Tuineje and CEIP Poeta Domingo Velázquez in El Matorral has been postponed.

Delays in Early‑Year Classrooms

The island’s education director, Yurena Pérez, explained in an interview on La Voz de Fuerteventura (Radio Insular) that the new 2‑to‑3‑year classrooms cannot open yet because the contracted companies have delayed the construction work.

“What we announced—that we would have these three new 2‑to‑3‑year classrooms—will have to be delayed a bit due to the state of the works.”

The expectation is that the spaces will become operational in October, although the staff has already been hired as of 1 September.

“We simply need the works to finish… and then call the families again to let them know the children can attend,” Pérez said, noting the impact of the delay on many families’ work‑life balance.

Enrollment Decline and Staffing Increase

The start of the school year is also characterized by a drop in enrolment: the island has 424 fewer students than last year, a trend that mirrors the rest of the archipelago and follows the Ministry’s forecasts for the coming years.

Despite the lower pupil numbers, the teaching staff has been strengthened by 67 new teachers, allowing the reduction of class‑size ratios—a change “very well received by the entire educational community,” Pérez remarked. She added that further hiring will continue in the coming months.

Class Ratios

• Early childhood (Infantil): ratios of 16, 18 and 20 pupils per teacher.
• Primary: ratio of 22 pupils per teacher.
• Secondary: ratio of 25 pupils per teacher, with the possibility of lower ratios for students with specific needs.

Secondary and Vocational Education

Students in compulsory secondary education, vocational training cycles and the baccalaureate will begin classes tomorrow.

Students enrolled in vocational training will wait a little longer, as the new Integrated Vocational Training Center El Ciervo in Morro Jable will open on 15 September. The director highlighted this as a “milestone” in the decentralisation of vocational training on the island, and noted that, so far, there have been no major incidents affecting the 2025‑2026 school year.