Over the next few years, the work my team will be focusing on, in collaboration with the entire educational community, will rest on three basic pillars:

Promoting education as a factor for integration.

We will strive to create a Basque Education System firmly grounded in comprehension and equality. Our schools will address the issues of diversity, integration and inequality and will focus on the importance of teaching values. Our education system needs to be built on quality learning centres, backed by efficient management and excellent teaching, learning and support processes. And our schools must be staffed with well-trained regular instructors, with help from parents, social partners and city government.

We believe in having our own multilingual education system, where people learn how to learn and to develop skills and competences that will help them tackle life's challenges. Our system will take advantage of the opportunities of information technology in order to access and generate information and communicate with others.

Promoting Vocational Training as a factor for integration and reincorporating people into the labour market.

We will orient Vocational Training to integrate the population into the Basque labour market through three sub-systems: regulated, continuing and vocational education.

We will foment lifelong education and continuing education for all groups: young people, women, working people, senior citizens, etc. making sure they have equal opportunities in acquiring skills and competences, motivating them to take part in learning processes and thus promoting social cohesion.

Achieve a Basque University System  integrated into society.

We want a university system that is prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century, a system that provides quality education, has close ties with the community and is committed to economic, social, cultural and technological development. We want to be part of European higher education to provide our university system with an effective social structure and a European dimension.

At the same time, we will continue to develop and encourage research and innovation to the benefit of Basque society, consolidating our research fabric at the international level and establishing open dynamic networks that make our research a tool for progress and well-being.

Best regards,

TONTXU CAMPOS GRANADOS

BASQUE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, UNIVERSITIES AND RESEARCH.