SIAU criticizes the advancement of the teacher recruitment exams: "They will coincide with the final exams and evaluation sessions"

PalmThe Valencian Ministry of Education wants to move the 2026 teacher recruitment exams to May so that all vacancies are filled from the first day of the school year. According to the department, the change in schedule would allow the main administrative procedures, the allocation of positions, and processes related to substitute teachers to be concentrated in July, thus preventing the school year from starting with unfilled positions. The exams are expected to take place in early May, instead of June, as has been the norm until now. The Ministry argues that this reorganization of the schedule is based on planning and efficiency criteria and points out that other autonomous communities already hold their recruitment exams around similar dates. The Ministry also argues that bringing the exams forward will facilitate greater staff stability and better organization of schools in preparation for the start of the school year. However, the decision has been met with opposition from unions. Sources from the Independent, Autonomous, and Unitary Union (SIAU) denounce "the constant contempt shown by the Ministry of Education towards teachers, especially those preparing for competitive examinations and temporary teachers working illegally." The union criticizes the fact that the decision was communicated "with only a few months' notice and without any prior planning or dialogue," which, they claim, is "yet another example of improvisation, irresponsibility, and a complete lack of consideration for the educational community."

SIAU warns that bringing forward the competitive examinations "directly harms both candidates, who will see their study time drastically reduced," and educational institutions, which will be plunged into "utter organizational chaos." According to the union, the exams will coincide with "end-of-year exams, assessment sessions, and all the activities typical of the last two months of the school year," seriously impacting the normal functioning of schools and the educational support provided to students. The union rejects the possibility of this measure becoming permanent and emphasizes that "it should not be applied now or in the future." In this regard, SIAU explicitly distances itself from other unions that have raised the possibility of maintaining this schedule in future examinations. Another criticism concerns the composition of the examination boards. SIAU considers it "especially serious" to allow up to 75% of its members to be volunteers, since, they claim, this decision "shields cronyism, increases suspicion of favoritism, and consolidates situations in which exam preparation tutors can end up evaluating their own students." The union warns that "if the competitive exam system already presented serious shortcomings in objectivity, this change will further aggravate subjectivity" and insists that "thenepotism "It should not be included in any selection process."

Expired competitive examinations

SIAU also criticizes the current competitive examination system, which it calls a "public deception" because it is based on "an archaic memorization model, completely removed from the 21st-century pedagogical models that the Ministry itself claims to defend." According to the union, this contradiction demonstrates that "they preach what they don't practice" and demands "a profound reform of the system for accessing teaching positions, adapted to the current educational reality and based on objective, fair, and transparent criteria." The statement also focuses on the situation of temporary teachers whose contracts are fraudulent, who, according to SIAU, suffer "continuous mistreatment by the Administration." They denounce the denial of rights recognized by European institutions, "such as permanent employment," and claim that they are condemned to "planned precarity that causes burnout, frustration, and disaffection towards the profession." The union links this situation to the fact that "the lists of temporary teachers are practically empty."

Finally, SIAU questions the number of positions announced by the Department of Education and asserts that "they do not reflect the reality of the established staffing levels." According to the union, maintaining these figures will have negative consequences for both tenured teachers and future teachers, since "people's lives are being gambled with, and they are being condemned to an absolutely unacceptable chronic instability."

The union concludes that this entire scenario will ultimately affect students "not through any fault of the teachers, but due to the incompetence and lack of responsibility of those who hold the main decision-making positions within the Department of Education." Therefore, SIAU demands "an immediate correction, serious and respectful planning, and a real change of course in the educational policies of the Balearic Islands," because "teachers deserve dignity, stability, and respect, and public education deserves rigor and responsibility."