In the context of Zorrotzaurre, declared by Aburto as the “island of talent”, Catholic fundamentalism will have a place that aims to extend elitism and misogyny: A strong applause for Mr Beumer. Mayor.

But the private university in Navarre is not the only one. The “Ciudad Universitaria” project, named by the communication experts of the Municipal Government, includes many other elitist educational projects, almost all of them in Zorrozaurre: IMQ and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Deusto, AsFabrik of Mondragon Unibertsitatea, the American DigiPen School, the KunstHal School of Design, the Cambridge Innovation Center, two other design schools in the United Kingdom, and someone knows how many surprises we have left to see in the journal covers. In fact, we have been aware of the arrival of these higher education centres: through the media. There is no room for transparency and no prior public debate, neither with the municipal groups nor with the educational agents, let alone with the neighbours of the Bank of Deusto.

And the debate is worthwhile because with these kinds of operations a few are drawing the city model of the future, but its consequences, that is, the imbalances between educational systems, and the consequences of the brutal capitalist economic and urban development of the city, will be paid at the expense of all citizens.

Many will ask: Why is the City Hall financing higher education institutions if it is not its competence, and even less so if its management is in the hands of a private entity? Is it not a municipal competence in the field of education to build children's schools or to do repair works in public schools? Why is that money not being used to reduce the long list of needs that schools in Bilbao have? How are these operations justified by the private hands of public money?

The answer is found in the reports that the City Council itself writes to explain this waste. Several strategic axes are listed here: From now on, the fifth is the axis “Young Bilbao” and the fourth is “the city of knowledge”, but what is the first one on the list? The priority is not young people, nor the promotion of knowledge, nor economic activity; the first is the Zorrotzaurre Strategic Project. In other words, the objective of these projects has nothing to do with making a quality educational offer, nor with improving the future of the young people of Bilbao. The aim of the Municipal Government is to take forward the megalomaniac project of Zorrotzaurre, designed 20 years ago. But there is no indication of what would initially be the “oasis of public-private partnership” and today private actors have no intention of coming to the “island of talent”, unless public institutions make the red carpet and public resources available to them.

A clear example is the private design school KunstHal: The City Hall will relinquish the Trash building for 20 years to this private agent and, in addition, it will cost a repair of 1.2 million euros for the opening of the school. Subsequently, if a young billiard intends to study there, he will have to pay a tuition fee of at least EUR 6,000 for tuition. Were there no alternatives for Trash? If you want to locate a design school, why not analyze the possibilities of being located in it with the Basque Government and the School of Design ID-art of the Basque Country? Even more so given that the Basque Government invested a million euros in this building in its day, and that this public design school is ready to open a new headquarters in Bilbao, in addition to in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

On the urban level, it is clear that the government of Aburto is putting education at the service of these private agents, above the public interest. A clear example of this is the privileges that are given from the City Hall to the private university project that will be built next to the IMQ, although it is known that this concession may bring legal problems, as has happened in the case between Urretxindorra, Mercadona and the City Hall. I take this opportunity to tell you: Who will pay for the consequences of this mismanagement? It is to be seen, but it seems that the citizens will have to pay out of our pocket the mistakes made in their day by the managers of this city hall.

The priorities are therefore clear: The project planned for Zorrozaurre must go ahead, yes or no, whatever it costs and the City of Bilbao is ready to pay any price. The promotion of economic monoculture or the creation of social imbalances is indifferent. They are engaged in a project designed 20 years ago in a very different economic context and conditions. It was the time of the megalomaniac projects, of the attraction of the famous architects to Bilbao, of the obsession to win prizes that would arrive later… all with public money. And that's what's happening today with Zorrotzaurre. The Government names it as a “space of opportunity”, and it may be, but the question is: Who are you taking advantage of those opportunities? At least for the citizens and the interests of all.

Speaking of the public interest, we cannot forget that the axis of central education on this issue is the axis. I myself would not propose the Public University as a simple dichotomy between Vs. Private. Because all of them generate knowledge and talent, but we cannot forget that the public university is the only one that guarantees equal opportunities in access and the only one that prioritizes the general interest. That is why the institutions have an obligation to give priority and support to public education workers. But the imbalances that these operations will produce in the long term in terms of social cohesion will be inevitable if we do not open a public debate here and now on this “university city”: Debate with the educational agents, as well as with groups of different political sensitivities in Bilbao and, of course, with the neighbours and neighbours of the Bank of Deusto, who, before reaching that future Zorrotzaurre, are suffering from the actual floods.

This news was published by Uriola de Bilbao and we brought it to ARGIA thanks to the CC-by-sa license.