.Government to Expand Costa Calma Primary School

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The goal is that students do not have to travel to Gran Tarajal to continue secondary education.

The Canary Islands Government’s Department of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports, headed by Poli Suárez, has launched the procedures to expand the Costa Calma Primary and Infant School (CEIP) and convert it into a Compulsory Education Center (CEO). This move responds to a long‑standing demand from the southern Fuerteventura education community, aiming to prevent pupils from having to travel long distances to continue their secondary studies. Following a visit by the minister to the school in September and subsequent technical work, the department has formally requested the Pájara City Council to transfer the adjoining municipal land for educational use.

During the 30 September visit to CEIP Costa Calma, Suárez was accompanied by Iván G. Carro, Director General of Infrastructure and Equipment (responsible for assessing land viability and future actions), and Yurena Pérez, Island Director of Education. Together they met with the school’s management team and representatives of the educational community to discuss the area’s needs. The meeting highlighted the difficulty families face when students must travel several kilometres to other municipal schools to continue their studies after primary school, a problem that especially affects families in this part of the island.

“From the very first moment we knew we had to look for a realistic, medium‑term solution to answer a historic demand from the Costa Calma education community and the whole south of Fuerteventura,” said Poli Suárez.
“This initiative stems precisely from direct contact with the school’s management and local families, who have been demanding to be heard for decades.”
“Having listened to them, reached consensus and analyzed the feasibility of expanding the school onto the adjacent land, we have started the procedures to make it a reality as soon as possible.”

Currently, pupils from CEIP Costa Calma, La Lajita and Tarajalejo must travel 15 to nearly 30 km to IES Vigán in Gran Tarajal to attend compulsory secondary education. Suárez explained that the final objective is to develop a CEO that consolidates all compulsory education stages in a single site, serving the entire surrounding area. She added that the Department of Education is leading this effort and has already formally presented the proposal to the Pájara City Council, which she welcomed for joining the coordinated push to address the territory’s real needs with concrete actions.

In line with this, the Department of Education has completed the technical and administrative work required to officially submit the land‑transfer proposal to the Pájara City Council—a necessary step to evaluate the school’s expansion from both educational and infrastructure perspectives.