Palma, two decades without new schools or institutes

PalmIES La Ribera and CEIP Cas Capiscol. These are the last two public schools built in Palma, in 2003 and 2005, respectively. Since then, the school population for children aged 0-4 has decreased by 1,958, there are 2,203 more students between the ages of 5 and 9, and 2,548 more young people between the ages of 10 and 14, according to data from the first version of the Educational Infrastructure Plan, which has still been designed by the Regional Ministry of Education. The school population has increased overall, but the number of schools has not. Currently, in Palma there are 22 secondary schools (IES), 42 secondary schools (CEIP), and four secondary schools (CEIPIESO).

The main space problem is concentrated in secondary schools, points out the former Director General of Planning, Development, and Schools of the Left Pact, Antoni Morante. Data from the Ministry of Education indicate average class sizes of 25.06 in compulsory secondary education and 26.56 in high school. The maximum number of students allowed by regulations is 30 and 35, respectively. However, the teachers surveyed point out that the vulnerability of students in the Balearic Islands means that, even if the maximum class sizes are not reached, classroom management is very complicated. Since 2009, the Josep Sureda i Blanes Secondary School and the Pintor Joan Miró Secondary School have expanded, and the La Ribera Secondary School is currently expanding.

It's worth mentioning that a new institute, the Balearic Islands Sports Development Center, was inaugurated in 2023. However, it's a center for high-level, federated student athletes, and young people from all over the islands can attend. Therefore, it doesn't solve Palma's problem. Morante explains that his team was determined to build institutes in the city, but faced several problems. "When we arrived, we found that no intervention had been made in any center during the entire 2011-2015 term. We spent the first four years renovating schools and institutes," he explains.

Another setback was the difficulty in finding development land. "The usual infrastructure policy is that city councils hand over the land and Educació builds," he points out. "The problem is that in Palma, there has never been any urban planning or facility planning, and then you have a problem. You have land to build buildings, but you don't have schools. We had the capacity to build centers, but we couldn't due to lack of space," he says. This situation arose despite the fact that the PSOE also governed in Cort and was of the same political persuasion as the government. Between 2016 and 2023, the La Casa Blanca Primary School was expanded, and the Femu Primary School was planned, now under construction. Forty-two schools were also renovated, and the expansion of the La Ribera Secondary School, the Ses Estacions Secondary School (currently under tender), and the new Son Ferriol Secondary School were left in various stages of development.

The secondary schools in Zone B of Palma, which includes the neighborhoods of Camp Redó, Son Sardina, and Cas Capiscol, are the most affected by the infrastructure deficit. "The Josep Maria Llompart Secondary School is in one of the areas with the greatest demographic pressure, because new buildings are being built, new primary schools are being built, but not secondary schools," explains Jaume Salvà, the school's director. The problem will arise when the Femu Primary School, already under construction and with a capacity of 675 students, is completed. "They will have to go to the secondary school, and they will be sent to the secondary schools that are already saturated: Madina Mayurqa, Joan Maria Thomàs, Josep Maria Llompart, and Son Pacs," he explains.

Four barracks and no common areas

Son Pacs already has the maximum ratio, at least in the first year of compulsory secondary education, with 30 students per classroom. "Sometimes it's 27, because the Regional Ministry sends us fewer to compensate for the fact that we have many with Specific Educational Support Needs (SESE). But when they have to relocate newcomers, I know they end up going up to 30," laments the director, Antoni Tornero. The situation at the center, built in 1981, is not ideal. It has four classrooms in barracks, the school has had to remove the teaching department spaces to make room for classrooms, and teaching sessions and meetings must be held in a multipurpose space. Son Pacs has more than 800 students and is served by 12 different schools.

In its Infrastructure Plan, the Regional Ministry foresees an intervention at Son Pacs in the medium term. "It needs more space. A comprehensive renovation is planned. A new center must be built next to the current one for ESO and Bachillerato. In the second phase, the old facilities for vocational training must be remodeled," the document states. As for the Llompart, its renovation is planned, but in the long term. The director of this center points out that the building has significant deficiencies. "Beyond having 1,460 students, which makes it practically unmanageable; our façade is in disrepair because it has lost its protection; when it rains, water seeps in, the iron pillars swell, and then work will have to be done so the building collapses," explains Salvà. The sight that students and teachers encounter upon arrival at the center is not pleasant. "The first thing you see is a rusty porch and then some aluminum doors from the 1980s held open with chains," he points out. Even so, he assures that his school is one of the best in the area, although in Baccalaureate he has groups with 34 students – the maximum is 35.

ARA Baleares has asked the Regional Ministry to speak with an infrastructure official to analyze the state of the schools, the planned plans, and the pedagogical impact of working in old and dilapidated buildings. Currently, Educació emphasizes the need to improve academic results because the Balearic Islands are at the bottom of the ladder. However, the Regional Ministry has ignored this request. The Infrastructure Plan calls for the construction of three secondary schools and the expansion of five over the next 10 years, while it plans to build 11 elementary schools and expand eight. It should be noted that not all of these are general interventions; there are some that incorporate classrooms for stages 0-3 and 0-6.

One of the schools also targeted for medium-term intervention is the CEIP Jafudà Cresques, in Pere Garau. The school dates back to the 1960s. The director is Aina Picó, and she has a historical perspective on how the poor state of Ciutat's infrastructure came to be. "For many years, the ball has been passed between the Regional Ministry and the City Council, which has resulted in many centers not being built," he points out. Jafudà has urgent needs, such as a new floor for the playground, because the current one dates from the 1980s, and the bathrooms in one of the buildings are from the 1960s. In Pere Garau—the most populated neighborhood in Palma—there are two Preferential Care schools, a classification that implies lower ratios. "The difference in the number of children ends in the subsidized schools," Picó laments.

How does working in these contexts affect it? The principals consulted emphasize that working with 25 students per classroom today is not the same as working with 20 years ago. "The vulnerability of young people has increased enormously, in addition to the difficulties. I have classrooms of 30 students, where 15 are from the NESE (Socialist Social Development Institute), adding the constant arrival of newcomers, which represents an extra workload in a precarious context." "The school is not a visually friendly space where students and teachers can feel comfortable," explains Salvà. In the case of Son Pacs, the lack of space is one of the main problems. "The environment is not adequate," says the principal.

The demographic pressure in the Palma B area is such that the four secondary schools in the area alternate hosting a fifth line. That is, if the current year begins a fifth year of ESO at the IES Joan Maria Thomàs, the next will do so at the Madina Mayurqa, and so on. When one class ends, another begins. Overcrowding will worsen when the Femu primary school is finished, while waiting for the expansion of the Joan Maria Thomàs secondary school (which has barracks), Son Pacs, and the construction of the new Palma B secondary school.

In addition to the lack of educational infrastructure, it will be necessary to assess the impact of the closure of the IES Politécnico. According to its director, Francisco Javier Caparrós, it will mean the elimination of 300 places between compulsory secondary education and high school. "The pressure on the IES Ramon Llull will increase, and, above all, the local private schools will benefit," he points out. Ramon Llull already has high enrollment ratios of between 25 and 27 students in compulsory secondary education and 30 in high school. All of this in a building with very limited space. "As long as student ratios are not improved, it will be impossible to improve the education system in the Balearic Islands, no matter how much politicians boast and compare us to Castile and León. It's not comparable. It's not for nothing," Salvà concludes.