Last Wednesday, February 14 CICAE held the XIII Assembly of Members and was inaugurated with the presence of the Vice-Minister of Education Policy of the Community of Madrid Mr. José Ignacio Martín Blasco, on Director General for Subsidized Education, Scholarships and Study AidsMr. Jorge Elías de la Peña Montes de Oca.
The representative of the ministry expressed his firm commitment to private education and the need for the existence of quality, free and independent educational centers to guarantee the right and freedom of families to choose the best center for their children. “Private education has a fundamental role in the educational system. And you have us by your hand for whatever you need”, said the Vice Councilor.
“Private education has a fundamental role in the education system.”
The president of CICAE, Mr. Gabriel Castellano, thanked the host school, Alameda International School of Madrid, for their welcome and the authorities for their presence, and stated that “CICAE is a group of excellent schools (more and more) that after 14 years of history have just reached the number of 60 associated schools, with presence in almost all the Autonomous Communities. We have learned to generously share our best practices, and to help each other in different matters, in a permanent search for educational excellence in order to try to achieve the best possible education for all our students”.
He also commented on the concerns of the sector, such as the serious situation faced by the education system with the low birth rate, the unfair competition of a model of subsidized education or the defense of the autonomy of private schools that, on occasions, is altered with changes in rules and regulations, which also cause excessive bureaucracy and administrative work.
And, like the Deputy Minister of Educational Policy, he defended the existence of private education: “A free and democratic country has to have private education, which is fundamental for a free country. We know that, as an association, we sometimes make claims that may be uncomfortable for the administration, but the only thing we demand is that the rules of the game are transparent and that there is no unfair competition, such as the one that currently exists. I am sure that, together, we can agree on initiatives to improve education, overcome any obstacles and reach new goals”.
For his part, Mr. Julio Fontán, educator and researcher dedicated to innovation, creator of Fontán Relational Education (FRE), presented his educational project whose purpose is to ensure that education enables people to develop skills and habits that are highly correlated with quality of life. “Respect for the difference to avoid the total or partial exclusion of the student,” he explained in his presentation.
Julio Fontán has led educational transformation and innovation in public and private institutions in Colombia, Mexico, USA, Spain, Chile and Ecuador. With this work, FRE has become a world reference in innovation.
CICAE Management and Activities Report for the 2022-2023 academic year
During the assembly, a video summary of the CICAE Management and Activities Report for the 2022-2023 academic year was also presented. An Action Plan for the next year 2024-2025 was also presented.
