STEI demands the resignation of the Director General of Early Childhood

PalmaSTEI demands the resignation of the Director General of Early Childhood, Neus Riera, due to the management of the 49 new Early Childhood Education Technician (TEI) positions created for the 2026-2027 academic year. The union considers that the Ministry of Education has managed these positions in a “disastrous” manner and denounces that the professionals have not been appointed to vacancies for the entire school year. According to STEI, this week Riera was scheduled to appear before the Sectoral Board of General Services, at the union's request, to provide explanations regarding the situation. Specifically, she was to explain why the 49 new TEI positions have not been filled with vacancy appointments. Ultimately, according to the union, the Director General did not appear and submitted a written statement with her explanations.

The positions have been covered by appointments due to production circumstances, with a duration of nine months. This implies, according to the STEI, that the children will be left without their educator starting from June 1st, or earlier if the professional takes the vacation period that corresponds to them.

The union attributes the situation to the fact that the positions "were not funded at the time the call was made". The STEI criticizes that Riera's document justifies this with arguments related to the remuneration structure of the Civil Service and Education, which it considers "imprecise". It also points out that the document refers to the TEIs as "fixed-term staff", when, according to the union, they are interim civil servants.

Expenditure

STEI also warns of the economic cost that this hiring formula will entail. According to the union, the document from the director general confirms that, for each TEI position managed in this way, the Department will end up assuming the cost of one and a half salaries of an Early Childhood education teacher, who already has higher remuneration. For the union, the situation also has consequences for families, children, and educational centers. STEI warns that students will have to change their educational point of reference before the end of the school year and that schools will have to manage two different professionals for the same task. It also denounces the job insecurity to which, in its view, this formula subjects the TEIs. For all these reasons, the union considers that the management of the new positions, the lack of appearance before the Sectoral Board, and the explanations given by the director general justify her resignation.