Urkullu has stated that he is not aware of the programme guidelines being made on behalf of Lehendakaritza and that it has a direct budget of EUR 1,400,000: neither of the duties being sent to the centres, nor of the 25% subsidy the programme has, nor of the criteria by which the list of companies receiving the centres is established, so that the teachers can then call to the door of the centres. Urkullu has argued that the operational development of this programme is carried out by the Vice-Office for Vocational Training, and the Vice-Office has therefore responded to questions addressed to lehendakari by Parliamentarian Rebeka Ubera.

The Vice-Counsel, for its part, has not clarified a number of issues with regard to the proposal submitted. Asked about the existence of a decree regulating the program, they have responded with general rules on the role of teachers, but no specific decree related to the program is reported. Nor is it clear whether there is an official 25% public subsidy to the centre for every work carried out by teachers to companies. And when asked why criteria are included the list sent to the centers and if there is any public call to participate in it, it is answered that it is a list for the centers to use as “information”, with the aim of removing importance.

Professors in commercial work

The Vice Counselor says that the faculty is not working as a salesperson. But as we noted in the article, the program obliges all participating centers to visit at least 30 companies a year, and the government urges teachers not to tell the truth to companies in the document provided by ARGIA: “If we make companies see that the center receives money for visiting, rather than as an agent coming to help, they may see us as an agent interested in visiting.” I mean, like a commercial.

The program, they say, “does not arise as an obligation for teachers, but as an invitation to participate”. As we mentioned in the article, this programme has become an important source of income for vocational training centres, so it is expected that more than one centre will be forced to participate in this competition in order to obtain money.

According to the Vice-Office, “visits to several companies do not define the financing of educational centers”, but this program shares a bag of 1,400,000 euros between the centers, and the more visits to the companies and the more projects sold, the more financial and personal resources the center receives. Is that not conditional on funding? The Vice-Counselor’s approach is curious: he insists that it is not a matter of “financing the activities of the centers, but of helping to create new skills and competencies in their faculty”.

The Minister for Education will have to give explanations in the Basque Parliament

In addition to sending questions to lehendakari, Rebeka Ubera has asked for two hearings in the Basque Parliament: One of the Education Counselor, Cristina Uriarte, and the other the Vice Counselor of Vocational Training, Jorge Arévalo. They will be asked for explanations of this programme and of the doubts that have not yet been resolved.