A visible protest on the façade
The teaching staff assembly of IES Enric Valor hung a protest banner on the façade of the Orba school on Thursday afternoon. With this gesture, the staff seek to pressure for acceleration of the new school building's construction. "We have begun a new academic year with the same shortcomings as always. We do not want more promises, we want the new secondary school and we want it built now," the teaching staff assembly stated.
Administrative procedures completed, work still pending
The new secondary school project was unveiled in 2023 as part of the Pla Edificant, and its administrative procedures were completed in July 2025. Despite this, the Education Department has yet to approve either the budget allocation or the final permit to begin work. Meanwhile, the school's enrolment stands at around 200 pupils, more than triple the capacity for which the current building was designed, originally intended for some 60 students.
Temporary buildings and ten years of deficiencies
Students continue their education in temporary buildings and in spaces shared with the municipal primary school. Added to this are insufficient Vocational Training classrooms, damp and leaks in various areas of the building, and the absence, for the past ten academic years, of properly equipped laboratories for Physics, Chemistry and Natural Sciences lessons.
The same demands from the May strike
Thursday's protest returns to the demands that prompted a teachers' strike last May: conversion of the school into an autonomous secondary school, improved digital resources, stabilisation of staffing levels and recruitment of dedicated administrative personnel. The assembly also denounces that the application of the education freedom law is damaging group cohesion and the normalisation of Valencian language at the school.
Municipal backing and continued mobilisation
Orba Town Council, families of pupils and several local groups have rallied behind the teachers' protest. The staff assembly has warned it will maintain further awareness-raising actions whilst awaiting concrete responses from the education authorities. "We want the new secondary school now! For quality public education in Valencian," the teaching staff assembly concluded.
