The Education Department wants to bring forward the 2026 teacher recruitment exams by one month.

PalmThe Ministry of Education intends to bring forward the 2026 teacher recruitment exams by a month so that all vacancies are filled from the first day of the school year. The exams would be held on May 9th and 10th, instead of June, to concentrate the main administrative procedures, assignments, and substitute teacher processes during July. This would avoid the last-minute emergencies that currently drag on until September and leave many schools starting the year without full staffing. The call for applications for the exams is expected to be published around the second week of February, after the transfer process has been completed. This was announced by the Minister of Education and Universities, Antoni Vera, just before meeting with the Sectoral Education Committee, where they also discussed the 2.5% salary increase for civil servants starting in January 2026 and the increase and standardization of the residency allowance. According to the Ministry's calculations, the total increase between the salary increase and the housing allowance will be 3.25%. In total, the measure will entail an expenditure of €21.5 million (€19 million for the salary increase and €2.5 million for the housing allowance).

The regional minister defended bringing forward the competitive examination schedule as a "necessary" measure to streamline a process that is currently crammed into a very short period. "The goal is to reach the start of the school year with as many positions filled as possible and with all possible procedures completed before August," he explained. According to Vera, the proposal would allow the examinations to be finalized by the end of June, freeing up July to handle assignments, process temporary staff applications, and activate urgent procedures. The final replacement process, which would cover most of the needs for the 2026-2027 school year, would take place at the end of July. Despite acknowledging that changing the examination dates might generate some resistance, the regional minister insisted that it is necessary to analyze the process as a whole. "We are one of the regional ministries that concentrates the most procedures in a very short time, and we need to spread them out to guarantee good public service," he asserted.

643 planned positions, pending transfer competition

The Balearic Government plans to offer a total of 643 teaching positions, a figure still pending the final results of the transfer competition. Of these, 410 are for Mallorca; 41 for Menorca; 176 for Ibiza; and 16 for Formentera. By teaching body, 430 positions are for Secondary and Baccalaureate education; 147 are for primary school teachers; 40 for Vocational Training; 18 for music and performing arts; and 8 for official language schools. The Minister recalled that last year, despite offering positions through competitive examinations, the number of applicants was low. "Our commitment is to continue offering positions and, above all, to fill them," he emphasized. In this regard, the schedule for temporary teacher appointments will also be brought forward. Last year, the process extended until the end of August and the beginning of September, and nearly 1,000 substitute teachers were managed. In the 2025 competitive examinations, 1,167 people registered, but only 829 took the exam, almost 30% fewer than expected. Of the 536 positions offered, only 267 people passed. Furthermore, 23 examination boards could not be formed due to a lack of candidates, and in some of those that were established, no one showed up. Regarding the high number of failures, Vera pointed out that "some boards tell us that some candidates take the exams just to try their luck," something that also affects the final results.

Regarding competitive examination boards, the Department of Education proposes increasing the percentage of volunteer members from 50% to 75% and initiating the necessary changes to increase their compensation. Furthermore, an agreement has been reached with all unions to sign a specific pact that will increase the housing allowance for teaching staff, as well as implement a 2.5% salary increase starting in January 2026.

Advance replacements to reduce errors

One of the main objectives of the calendar change is to minimize administrative errors and avoid rushed assignments in September. For this reason, the Department of Education wants to move most substitute teacher placements to July. "This also makes it easier for staff to accept positions outside their island and gives them time to organize," Vera pointed out. The Department of Education acknowledges that filling vacancies is easier in primary schools than in secondary schools, especially in certain specializations. The teacher shortage is concentrated mainly in secondary schools and in the Pitiusas Islands, where finding long-term housing is particularly difficult. Meanwhile, a new application for managing teaching staff and subsidized private schools is being put out to tender. This application will replace GestIB and will represent "a radical change" to the current system. However, it is a two-year project that will not be completed for the next academic year.