Basque Government approves the opening of a new secondary school in Salburua

• Once the works have been completed, the centre will start its educational activity next September.
• The Government approves the programme for the development of Postdoctoral studies with almost 5 million for the Development of Doctoral Research Staff.

Bingen Zupiria, the acting spokesperson and minister, held a press conference as usual following the Governing Council meeting.

ALMOST 5 MILLION FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES

The Governing Council discussed a number of issues concerning the Department of Education. Firstly, it has approved the programme for the development of Postdoctoral studies with a total budget of almost 5 million euros for further training of Doctoral Research Staff and for short-term secondments abroad until 2027. "Those who are part of this programme previously had year-long contracts, now the initial contract lasts three years and can be extended for another year, which allows them to improve and be more effective in research training," said Zupiria. In this 2024-25 academic year, 95 people will be offered a postdoctoral contract through this programme.

The Governing Council has also approved the new Decree on music and dance schools, a Decree that regulates the basic rules for the establishment and management of the aforementioned schools, whether public or private, which do not lead to qualifications with academic or professional validity. "The main new feature of this new Decree - unlike the previous one, which was passed in 1992 - is that it introduces dance as a subject to be taught in these schools", explained the spokesperson.

Finally, in regard to the Department of Education, the opening of a new secondary school in Vitoria-Gasteiz has been approved. This is the Salburua Secondary School, which will bear this precise name, IES Salburua. It will begin its educational activity next 2024-2025 academic year beginning in September, once the works have been completed. This new educational centre, which to begin with will have 6 units (6 groups), was created to meet the needs of Compulsory and Pre-university Post-compulsory Secondary Education in this Vitoria neighbourhood.

OTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL

As is customary, the spokesperson, Bingen Zupiria, reported on other issues dealt with in the Governing Council, including the signing of an agreement with the Universidad Isabel I based in Burgos, allowing Criminology and Security Sciences students to carry out external academic internships in Ertzaintza. This agreement will be valid for four years. It will, therefore, allow students from this university to complement the knowledge acquired in their academic backgrounds and to facilitate the development of practical skills.

The agreement reached with the CCOO and UGT trade unions on Partial Retirement for workers with permanent employment contracts in the service of the Administration was passed to the Governing Council on 3 April. "Today the Council has approved this Plan, which has been in force since the date of the agreement and will remain in force until the end of the year," said Zupiria. "It is a voluntary measure, and although the number of people who will take part is unknown, there could 635 of them. In this case, the economic estimate to carry out this short-term contract would account for 16 million euros." - he added.

Finally, the Basque Government has approved the call for proposals for the Euskadi Literature Awards 2024 today. These awards are presented annually with the aim of rewarding the quality of literary works published in the previous year and to promote the literary creation of writers, translators and illustrators. In this year's edition, the awards will be presented in the following categories: Literature in Basque and Spanish; Children's and young people's literature in Basque; Literary translation into Basque; Illustration of literary works; and Essays in Basque and Spanish.