Three educational centres in Urgell, Catalonia, have formally communicated their decision to the Department of Education not to participate in a pilot programme that would place plain-clothes police officers in schools.
The Institut Costafreda in Tàrrega, the Institut Ribera d’Ondara in Agramunt, and the Institut lo Pla d’Urgell in Bellpuig have all requested to be removed from the scheme, according to educational administration sources and the schools' managements. A fourth centre in the region, the Institut Manuel de Pedrolo in Tàrrega, has declined to comment on its continued involvement.
Growing Opposition to Police in Schools
The Department of Education confirmed last week that two of the fourteen centres initially part of the project had formally asked to withdraw. These included a school in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and the Institut Costafreda in Tàrrega.
Sources from the USTEC teachers' union claimed that five centres had voted to opt out: the Institut Margarida Xirgu in L'Hospitalet, the Jaume Callís, La Plana, and Comtat d’Osona in Vic, and the Institut Costafreda in Tàrrega. Education officials also noted that one previously unlisted centre had requested to join the programme.
On Monday, sources from the ministry did not confirm any new requests to leave the plan. They indicated that a full evaluation of the pilot programme would be conducted at the end of the year, when it is scheduled to conclude.
