Government of Spain invests 330 million euros to expand ultra-fast Internet access in learning centres

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

In his speech, Mariano Rajoy stressed that investing in education means "investing in the betterment of people" and is the best investment for the future. A commitment to education "is the best thing we can do for the Spain of today and, above all, for the Spain of tomorrow".

The President of the Government explained that the Spanish education system, which has 670,000 teachers working at over 28,000 learning centres, offers the same quality and the same opportunities to all children, regardless of whether they live in rural or major urban areas. Hence, all children in Spain are guaranteed equal opportunities.

Pool MoncloaMariano Rajoy said that the agreement signed this morning has a clear objective. "We want all pupils to have the infrastructure they need to learn with the latest educational technologies available, regardless of where they are geographically", he said. He went on to add that "the present is already online and the future will be much more so".

He also said that, although progress has been made on the incorporation of new technologies into the classroom, Internet connection speeds have not developed at the same pace. "That is what this agreement aims to resolve", said the President of the Government. It is "a firm commitment to modernising our education system on a national level, a commitment that will especially help reduce the digital gap and foster equal opportunities".

Connected schools

Mariano Rajoy stressed that this is a modernisation project for the country resulting from two of the main economic development strategies currently being implemented: the public administration reform promoted by the Committee for the Reform of the Public Administration Services (Spanish acronym: CORA); and the Digital Agenda for Spain.

He said that all this falls fully in line with the other policies and structural reforms aimed at fostering economic recovery and job creation "as the cornerstone for upholding our Welfare State and guaranteeing such basic services as healthcare, education, pensions, unemployment benefits and all other social services".

6.5 million students to benefit

Pool MoncloaUnder this agreement, 330 million euros will be invested to expand ultra-fast Internet access at over 16,500 public-funded primary and secondary schools in Spain. The agreement, from which over 6.5 million pupils will benefit, was signed by the Ministries of Education and Culture, Economic Affairs and Competitiveness, and Industry, Energy and Tourism. The ministers in charge of these departments - José Ignacio Wert, Luis de Guindos and José Manuel Soria, respectively - signed the document at an event that was presided over by the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy.