"Blatant privatization at forced march": the new decree of agreements ignites the educational community

PalmaThe Balearic Government's new decree on educational cooperation agreements has sparked widespread rejection among key players in the educational and political left in the Balearic Islands. The Teachers' Assembly, STEI, and Alternativa Docent agree in denouncing that the new regulatory framework consolidates and expands the weight of subsidized schools while public education continues to suffer from a lack of resources and planning. MÉS per Mallorca and PSIB have also joined this criticism, accusing Marga Prohens' Executive of "inverting" the educational model.

One of the main shared objections is the duration of the agreements, which goes from six to ten years. For STEI, the extension limits the Administration's ability to adapt the educational network to the evolution of demand. The union had argued that agreements should only be granted when public supply could not cover needs and that they should have a maximum duration of six years. These amendments, however, have not been incorporated into the decree published in the BOIB on August 4.

The Assembly of Teachers considers that this decision is part of a broader strategy to weaken public schools. The group maintains that the decree "is not a simple regulatory modification", but rather "a new step" to strengthen the subsidized network while the public one suffers from "lack of resources, investment, and planning".

Along the same lines, Alternativa Docent describes the new decree as a "political project" that, in its opinion, alters the hierarchy established by the Balearic Islands Education Law (LEIB), which places public schools as "the base of the educational system". The group denounces that, under the argument of "free choice", the Government would be building a framework that shields subsidized schools to the detriment of public ones.

Public money for dismissals

Another of the points that concentrates criticism is the possibility that public funds may be used to cover compensation for staff in subsidized centers in certain cases. It is one of the measures that are most vehemently rejected by both STEI and Alternativa and L'Assemblea.

The union considers it "unacceptable" that the Administration assumes the compensation derived from the end of the linguistic segregation plan, since, as it argues, it should correspond to the heads of the centers. Alternativa speaks directly of "socialization of business risks": the head of the center would be the one to dismiss, but the Administration would assume the cost. The collective also criticizes that the subsidized sector can benefit from public resources for investments in private buildings and denounces that this network would have a stability that the public one does not have.

The teachers' criticism focuses precisely on this contrast. The Assembly recalls that the public network must adapt each year to enrollment needs, while the new system, as it denounces, offers the subsidized sector a ten-year horizon. "Rigidity and sacrifice for the public, guaranteed stability for the subsidized," summarizes Alternativa.

The heart of the conflict

The underlying discussion, however, goes beyond the duration of the concerts. Critical collectives question what the role of the subsidized network should be within the educational system. Alternativa denounces that the decree allows authorizing new subsidized units in the face of increased demand and recalls that the Minister of Education, Antoni Vera, has defended in Parliament that the Government will not add public places where there are already subsidized ones. For the collective, this means prioritizing the subsidized network instead of expanding the public network according to demographic needs.

The Teachers' Assembly shares this view and considers that the new decree "consolidates an educational model that progressively displaces public education from the center of the system" and makes the subsidized network the main beneficiary of the Government's educational policies. The collective demands that the processing be withdrawn and that resources be prioritized to strengthen public schools.

Criticism also focuses on the procedure followed to approve the decree. STEI recalls that the report from the Ministry of Education on the new decree was rejected by the School Council of the Balearic Islands (CEIB) and that the alternative report, which incorporated amendments from the union and other entities, obtained a majority of the plenary, with 22 votes in favor, 9 against, and one abstention. The union regrets that the contributions of the highest consultative body in educational matters have not been incorporated into the approved text and considers it a "disregard" for this body.

MÉS and PSIB

Politics are added to the response from the educational world. MÉS per Mallorca and PSIB have accused the Government of prioritizing subsidized schools over public ones and of promoting a change in the educational model. The two parties thus agree with the diagnosis of the unions and teaching entities, although the political approach emphasizes the Government's responsibility and the educational model that emerges from its decisions. Their criticism adds to a discontent that, on this occasion, is not restricted to a single sector.

For Alternativa, the decree is also part of a broader policy of the Ministry, which links with the expansion of grants for the first cycle of Early Childhood Education, the agreement on Vocational Training and changes in the structure of the Ministry itself, with the creation of the Directorate General of Agreed Centers. The union considers that all these decisions point in the same direction: a progressive strengthening of the private agreed network.

The conflict, therefore, is not limited to the ten years of validity of the agreements. What is at stake is which of the two models, public or agreed, should have priority in educational planning. While the Government defends the new framework as an update of the regulation of the agreements, critics see in it a change of model that favors the agreed network with public resources. Alternativa calls for the withdrawal of the decree, real negotiation with the unions and the educational community, and planning based on demographic data and aimed at strengthening the public network. The Teachers' Assembly also demands a halt to the process. STEI, for its part, maintains the defense of a public educational model in Catalan and the "rigorous" use of everyone's resources.