£100m is to be invested over the next three years to accelerate
the delivery of the flagship 21st Century Schools and Education
programme, Cabinet Secretary for Education, and Minister for Welsh
Language and Lifelong Learning said today.
An extra £75m, has been allocated to the 21st Century Schools and
Education Programme a major, long-term and strategic capital
investment programme to modernise education infrastructure.
In addition, £30m will be released from the programme in future
years for immediate investment in capital projects that will
contribute to the goal of reaching a million Welsh speakers by
2050. This is a shared priority with Plaid Cymru.
The money will bring the total invested over the life of the
programme to almost £3.8bn. The first phase of the programme will
finish in 2019 having invested £1.4bn to support the rebuild and
refurbishment of more than 150 schools and colleges across Wales.
The second phase will see a spend of £2.3bn.
said: “Our national mission
is to raise standards, reduce the attainment gap and deliver an
education system that is a source of national pride and
confidence. Our 21st Century Schools and Education Programme
plays a key part in this and is the largest investment in our
schools and colleges since the 1960s.
“Having a comfortable, modern, fit-for-purpose environment in
which to learn is vital to ensuring young people have the best
possible education. This extra funding will mean that even more
of our students will be able to benefit from having the best
possible facilities in their schools and colleges.”
said: “Reaching a million
Welsh speakers by 2050 is a significant challenge and education
is key to the success of this ambition. This means we need to
invest in new Welsh medium schools and improve and increase the
teaching of Welsh in English medium schools. Bringing forward
this funding for immediate investment allows us to ensure there
is no delay in the work to achieve this target.”
