Education attributes the drop in PAU results to LOMLOE: "The Law has not worked"

PalmaThe Ministry of Education considers that this year's University Entrance Exams (PAU) results demonstrate the failure of the implementation of LOMLOE and the curricula derived from the educational reform. The minister, Antoni Vera, admitted this Tuesday that the data "is not good" after the percentage of eligible students fell from 92.5% recorded in 2025 to 89.6% in 2026, while failures have increased to 10.4%.

"If we want to recognize the excellence of students with the best academic records, we must also work to improve the results of students who have not achieved the objectives," Vera stated during the presentation of awards for the best university entrance records, an event that the Government has taken advantage of to make a political interpretation of the test results.

The Ministry has placed special focus on scientific subjects, which show the worst results. Mathematics has obtained an average grade of 5.01 and only 57% pass rates. The situation is even more delicate in General Sciences, with an average of 4.70 and 48% of students deemed fit, while Physics records an average grade of 4.87 and 51% pass rates. In linguistic subjects, the results also stand slightly above five, with an average of 5.62 in Catalan and 5.43 in Spanish.

According to Vera, these are the first PAU (University Entrance Exams) to be conducted entirely under the LOMLOE educational model and the curricula approved by the State in 2021 and implemented in the Balearic Islands in 2022. The minister emphasized that the students examined this year were in their 3rd year of ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education) when the reform was introduced, and therefore, they have completed the entire last stage of their schooling under this regulatory framework.

"The Law has not worked and these are the results we have," stated the minister, who criticized that the reform "has displaced knowledge from the center of education." He also extended this criticism to the curricula approved in 2022, which, in his opinion, have prioritized methodologies over academic content.

Less hours of Mathematics and Physics

To justify this diagnosis, Vera recalled that previous curricula reduced the teaching load of various subjects. As detailed, in Primary, eight hours of Mathematics and four of English were lost throughout the stage. In Secondary, one weekly hour of Mathematics was also reduced in 4th year of ESO and one hour of Physics in both 4th year of ESO and 1st year of Baccalaureate.

In this regard, she stressed that the Balearic Islands were "the only autonomous community" that taught Baccalaureate modality subjects with only three weekly hours instead of four. "This meta-pedagogism has caused the situation we have now," she stated. The minister also criticized the obligation that the research project in Baccalaureate had acquired, a requirement that, as she explained, LOMLOE itself did not foresee and that the Government had to regulate.

New curricula

Faced with these results, Vera has defended the curricular reform promoted by Marga Prohens' Government, which will begin to be progressively rolled out. As she explained, the new curricula recover knowledge as the central axis of teaching, increase hours for Mathematics and elective subjects, strengthen languages, and recover content that, according to the Government, had disappeared, such as four centuries of Spanish History.

In Early Childhood Education, psychomotricity, writing, and mathematics are reinforced, while screen use is limited. In Primary School, hours for Mathematics, Language, Artistic Education, and Environmental Knowledge are increased, while in Secondary School, Mathematics in the 2nd and 4th years of ESO are particularly reinforced, and electives are created to consolidate competencies in languages and mathematics. In Baccalaureate, hours for elective subjects increase, and research work ceases to be compulsory to become an optional subject.

The counselor has insisted that these changes aim to "improve academic results and reduce inequalities" and has assured that the Ministry will continue to analyze the results of the PAU with teachers, principals, and unions. "We will put this data on all Education tables so that there is a joint reflection and we can reverse this situation," he said.

In parallel, the Ministry has announced awards for the best university access records. Students with the highest qualifications can submit their applications between July 15 and 24 and opt for one of the 20 awards of 600 euros to be granted this year: 10 in Mallorca, 5 in Menorca, and 5 between Ibiza and Formentera. According to Vera, the initiative aims to "recognize the effort and talent" of students with the best results.