NEWS

Prime Minister Pahor receives representatives of bilingual elementary school Špeter

The Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor today met with the representatives of the bilingual school centre Špeter (San Pietro al Natisone) from Italy. The meeting, which focused on the issue of bilingual schools, was also attended by the Minister for Slovenians Abroad, Boštjan Žekš, and State Secretary Jožef Školč.

   

(Photo: Matej Leskovšek/STA)

     

The representatives of the Špeter elementary school expressed their concern over the current situation of this bilingual institution, which is the only school providing lessons in Slovene in the Province of Udine, and over its possible closure due to the non-compliance with seismic safety rules. Prime Minister Pahor and Minister Žekš agreed that the situation requires an immediate search for an appropriate Italian counterpart in order to jointly reach a solution acceptable to both sides.

    

(Photo: Matej Leskovšek/STA)

    

The representatives of the Špeter bilingual school centre explained to Mr Pahor that they had been making efforts to get a new school building for several years. However, the Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia Gulia does apparently not have funds for this project and, therefore, solutions will have to be found within the existing facilities. The President of the Council of the Špeter bilingual school centre, Michele Coren, emphasised that the centre should remain in the Špeter community, and should include a kindergarten, an elementary school and a secondary school. Minister Žekš added that the centre should also remain in the vicinity of the Italian school, as this is the only way to make children feel they belong to the environment in which they live and that they are not isolated from other children. The Slovenian Prime Minister promised the school centre representatives that together with Minister Žekš, he would make every effort to help find an appropriate solution.