{
  "id": 13154809,
  "title": "Orihuela Parents Demand Action Over School Safety and Overcrowding",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/orihuela-parents-demand-action-over-school-safety-and-overcrowding",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T16:28:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Leader",
    "slug": "the-leader",
    "url": "https://theleader.info/2026/10/09/orihuela-parents-demand-action-over-school-safety-and-overcrowding/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Parents from 13 schools in the town of Orihuela are urgently calling for a meeting of the Municipal School Council to address serious safety and overcrowding issues. The organizations, representing parents, teachers' unions, and special education schools, have reported deteriorating buildings, frequent maintenance failures, and a lack of basic amenities like air conditioning. At Antonio Sequeros Special Education School, a lift that has been out of service since a 2019 storm leaves pupils with reduced mobility without a safe evacuation route. Other schools face issues such as inadequate toilets, damp conditions, uneven playgrounds, and thefts. Parents at Los Dolses Primary School say the building was designed for 18 classes but currently houses 26. At Playas de Orihuela, where 700 pupils are housed in a school meant for 400, families have documented 39 unresolved problems, including a broken fire suppression system and a boiler that has been out of service for over a year. The Valencian Ombudsman has supported the parents' complaint, but the municipal council has not yet responded. Several schools have been awaiting repairs for years, including Virgen de la Puerta, which remains at older schools while a replacement building is constructed. The parents' association has criticized Education Councillor Vicente Pina's management and demanded an immediate response, insisting on a meeting to establish priorities and ensure families receive clear commitments on safety, maintenance, and overdue improvements.",
  "summary": "Parents’ associations from 13 Orihuela schools are demanding an urgent meeting of the Municipal School Council after reporting serious deficiencies affecting pupil safety, hygiene and learning conditions. Representatives met with the STEPV teachers’ union and the Vega Baja Teachers’ Assembly to discuss deteriorating buildings, overcrowding, inadequate maintenance and a lack of air conditioning.…",
  "key_points": [
    "Parents from 13 Orihuela schools demand meeting with Municipal School Council.",
    "Antonio Sequeros Special Education School lacks safe evacuation route.",
    "Los Dolses Primary School overcrowded with 26 classes in a building for 18."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}