Antoni Vera: "School is the last bastion of Catalan"

PalmThis is the second start-of-year event organized by Antoni Vera (Palma, 1973) since becoming the Minister of Education and Universities. Vera doesn't hide his appreciation for state-subsidized schools, but he also praises public schools. The minister tries to balance the demands of the far right, whose votes are essential for the government, respect for the work of teachers, and the defense of Catalan in education.

We're halfway through the term. What would you have wanted to do but haven't been able to?

— There are many pending projects. For example, improving the textbook lending system and helping families acquire them. I wish we had done more regarding infrastructure, because it's one of the things that worries me the most. I'd like to reach everyone, but we can't. We also need a new application to manage teaching staff, which I hope we can have next academic year.

The new academic year begins with temporary workers and ATE employees upset about how the awarding of contracts has been handled. Is it necessary to take a self-criticism beyond the computer errors?

— We have state and regional civil service laws, regional civil service decrees—which apply to non-teaching staff—but we don't have specific regulations for teachers, and that forces us to negotiate everything at the Sectoral Roundtable. What's unacceptable is that the rules of the game change every year. We will work to approve specific regulations for teaching staff for the next academic year. There are things we've improved because we carried out the temporary staffing processes in July and August. I know some people are angry about the priority system, but everything was agreed upon at the Roundtable and it was a demand from the unions. The Administration can't justify saying that the software has failed. It's true that it's obsolete, but it's our fault, and we must get to work.

What are you doing to combat the unprecedented crisis of teacher vocations, which threatens the future of education?

— We have a Framework Agreement for the public sector and one for the private sector that we must comply with this year. Afterwards, we must draft new ones, and they must be better. What we are doing to alleviate the shortage of vocations, especially on the smaller islands, is to provide supplementary benefits for professionals assigned to hard-to-fill and very hard-to-fill positions. Through the Housing Law, we will announce medium-term measures that will also help. Furthermore, dignifying the teaching profession should not only be the responsibility of the Ministry of Education; it is a task that society as a whole must undertake. It is everyone's job. We are waiting for the Ministry to approve the teaching statute; the initial step is to value the profession.

You've increased the number of hours in math, middle school, and language to improve academic results at the expense of the free hours available to schools. Do you understand why teachers feel you don't trust them?

— It's not that we don't trust them, it's that we must regulate certain minimums. If we compared ourselves with other autonomous regions, our math teaching hours were at least 16, but beyond that, they varied by school. We've increased the teaching load because we believe it's necessary to equalize what all schools are doing. Of course, we trust them and give them freedom. While it's true they have fewer hours of free choice, we give them the freedom to organize themselves as they wish. In secondary school, we even allow them to create specific subjects.

Do you think Vox's attacks and criticisms of teachers' work in Parliament contribute to demotivating future professionals?

— Parliament is a place of debate. We recognize, and will always recognize, the essential role of all teachers and all management teams. I fully support the teaching staff, which I admire and of which I am a part. The fact that there are occasionally situations within the debate that come out of left field is part of the parliamentary game.

Why is the number of students in public education falling again (-823) and the number in private education rising again (+926)?

— The private schools are increasing, yes, but due to the increase in places for children between 0 and 3 years of age. We had to make agreements to make more publicly funded places available to families. We'll still have to make more available. There will be few private schools, but public schools need many more. We support both public and private schools, and what we're trying to do is lower their ratios. Specifically, next year we will present a ratio plan linked to available infrastructure.

But why is the public sector declining?

— It is particularly low in preschool and primary education, as is also the case in private schools.

In Ferreries, families were forced to attend private schools.

— I've never hidden it. Our school map includes all publicly funded places. If we had places in Ferreries, there was no need to create a new classroom, because the public one was full, but the private one wasn't. If families wanted a public place, they had the option of going to the neighboring municipality, which had vacancies. When places are needed, as an administration, we are clear that we will expand our public space.

Do you understand why there are families who refuse to send their children to a religious school?

— Yes, just as I understand that there are families who refuse to send their children to a secular school and want a religious education. That's why we have a wide range of options. We don't cut anyone off. If a municipality had only one school and it was subsidized, we would have to build public spaces, at all costs.

Why has Palma's private school system been putting up obstacles and delaying for years an agreement for a balanced redistribution of vulnerable students, which already exists in other Balearic cities?

— Palma is the twin because it attracts many students and offers a wide range of public and private schools. This greatly complicates a school enrollment agreement, as multiple parties must reach consensus. Regardless, it must be acknowledged that there are many private schools in the city's neighborhoods where they perform an essential social function.

In Palma, there are public schools for vulnerable children, such as the CEIP Escola Graduada, which is less than 10 minutes away from a private school, Sant Francesc, with an upper-middle-class student body.

— I think both the Graduate School and the Sant Agustí and Sant Francesc CCs have a very diverse student body. A few years ago, there may have been more differences, but not anymore. Unaccompanied minors and newcomers attend not only public schools but also private schools, where they need support measures. Private schools don't allow you to choose your students; you get what you get, and that's it. During the school year, incoming students are distributed among the city's schools, whether public or private.

You said it would comply with the Education Framework Agreement. Is the Pilot Plan for Free Language Choice compatible with point 20 of the agreement, which calls for an Action Plan for Catalan and the creation of a language normalization service?

— The service is established and is doing a great job. It has taken over management of the program. Live the culture, which is very important. In addition, there will be linguistic and cultural projects that will be presented. We've expanded the hours of language training in primary school and the PALIC [Linguistic and Cultural Welcome Program] in secondary school. I know many people don't like it when I say this, but we'll name the state-funded school PALIC, because it also welcomes newcomers who need prior adaptation work. As for the Plan, it's voluntary and complies with regulations.

Could you name five schools where the teaching staff has told you that students are better at speaking Catalan than Spanish? And how many have told you the opposite?

— I haven't spoken directly with the teaching staff about the students' level, whether they're better in Catalan than in Spanish. Their proficiency in Catalan, Spanish, English, and mathematics isn't good, so we've created new educational curricula to see if we can reverse the situation. It's clear that Catalan needs extra support, which is why PALIC exists and why we're providing resources. The issue of exempting teachers from Catalan is for positions that are very difficult to fill, those for which no one has applied in the competitive examinations. Catalan won't be a prerequisite, but it will be a requirement. The goal is not to cut off any potential applicants.

The Health Department has exempted certain hard-to-fill positions from Catalan, and now it's hard to find Catalan-speaking healthcare workers. Is this the future of the education system?

— No, absolutely not. We have a number of specialties for which it's difficult to find people, but not for the rest. We are very clear that teachers must know and master their native language to be able to teach it.

For many, school is the last bastion where children learn Catalan.

— Yes, school is the last bastion of Catalan, but a student's command or use of it depends not only on the school but also on society. We can provide resources and help, but the Ministry cannot provide the complete solution.

Why do you think public schools have turned their backs on the Language Plan for the second year? Did they expect this?

— The language and educational plans of public schools are very clear in one sense, which is why the teaching staff felt it appropriate not to join them. I'm glad they didn't join, and I'm glad the private schools decided that the Plan suited their operation. School autonomy has worked.

Will the Plan eventually cease to be voluntary and become mandatory?

— It's a pilot project, voluntary, and has an expiration date. It will then be evaluated. Currently, we have a clear understanding of the current language regulations, and not a comma has been changed. It's a voluntary plan. The Minimum Decree is protected, as is the Language Normalization Law and the Balearic Education Law (LEIB). The modification to the LEIB [to introduce Spanish as a vehicular language] has been made to the guiding principles; it's not being changed anymore. Educational centers that wish to continue doing everything in Catalan.

 How many years will it take for all schools in the Balearic Islands to have minimum thermal comfort levels?

— We can't give a timeframe, but we're working there. We're studying the centers in the second phase of the Air Conditioning Pilot Plan and working on those in the first phase. If we continue to carry out work, and in those centers where a major intervention isn't necessary, the city councils can help us air-condition them, we might be able to do more, as is happening now in Sant Antoni de Portmany.

What do you have to say to experts who claim that there are schools in the Balearic Islands that don't comply with the LOMLOE (Legal Education Act)?

— We have an Education Inspection Department responsible for enforcing state and regional regulations. If there are schools that don't comply, let us know, and the inspection department will take action. The LOMLOE (Spanish Educational Law) is not our law; we don't believe it solves Spain's educational problems, but we must respect it. We try to address the law's shortcomings through curricula, as other autonomous communities, both those governed by the PP and the PSOE, have done.

And what about those who say there are schools that don't comply with the Minimum Standards Decree and teachers who don't respect language projects?

— If there's a breach and it's reported, we'll take action, but we need to be told. We had a case at a public school in the Balearic Islands: we were notified that the language project was being breached, and we intervened.

How is it possible that in the Balearic Islands, one of the regions with the highest school dropout rate and the largest population without any qualifications, the vocational training offering cannot meet demand and does not adapt to the market?

— It's a serious problem I experienced as a tutor. There are students who want to study specialties that aren't in demand in the market. We've expanded the educational offering to include the most in-demand courses, such as healthcare, computer science, and so on. But there are always waiting lists. On the other hand, there are other courses that are in low demand. We will continue to expand the offering, in our commitment to combating early school dropouts through vocational training. We must recruit another 10,000 students.