The Educational Network attacks the exemption of Catalan for teachers: "Pacts with fascists, fascist ideas"

PalmThe Educational Network for Language has called a concentration this Tuesday before the Parliament to reject the measure agreed between the PP and Vox that allows exempting Catalan from the requirement for teachers accessing public service in hard-to-fill positions. The initiative, which is part of the agreements between both parties, has opened a new front of tension in the educational and linguistic sphere in the Balearic Islands. "Pacts with fascists, fascist ideas"; "With Prohens, language is not consensus", shouted the fifty or so demonstrators, who attended on behalf of families, unions, school principals, among others.

The organizers have placed the linguistic issue at the center of the criticism. "Measures are being approved that make our language dispensable in our land", they denounced during the concentration. In the same vein, they stated that these are "measures that respond to the obsessions of the far-right and are supported by the PP, and "measures that make it difficult to live in Catalan in the Balearic Islands and that erode the educational model from within".

According to entities, the possibility of incorporating teachers without accredited knowledge of Catalan has direct consequences on the functioning of the educational system and on the rights of students. “The right of students to learn Catalan is violated”, they have assured. Furthermore, they have warned that “the functioning of the centers is made more difficult” and that “tension in classrooms increases”, especially in already complex contexts.

The protest has brought together representatives of some of the entities that make up the Network, who have wanted to express their rejection of a measure they consider regressive. Participants have displayed banners in defense of the language and have called for educational policies that reinforce, and do not weaken, the current model.

The measure promoted by the Government is part of the will to respond to the growing difficulty in filling certain teaching positions, especially in some specialties and at advanced stages of the course. The Executive defends that it is a specific and necessary solution to guarantee that all groups have teachers, even in situations of lack of candidates.

This argument, however, is rejected by the mobilized groups, who consider that the underlying problem is not the linguistic requirement, but the lack of attractiveness of the teaching profession and working conditions.

Structural crisis of the teaching staff

In this regard, during the concentration, the focus has been broadened to place the debate within the framework of a global crisis of the educational system. The conveners have recalled that “Europe and North America need 4.8 million teachers” and that “90% of this shortage has one cause: they leave the profession”.

“It is not a lack of vocation, it is due to the conditions”, they have emphasized, before detailing the main factors that explain this abandonment. Among these, they have highlighted “the complexity of the classrooms: with more NESE students than in the rest of the State and with constant new enrollments during the course”.

They have also pointed out “excessive working hours: Spanish teachers work more hours than the European average”, as well as “a climate that is increasingly tense: 79% speak of conflictive classrooms”. Added to this is “stifling bureaucracy; 96% of teachers say it is excessive” and “unattractive salaries”.

In the specific case of the Balearic Islands, the organizers have emphasized the cost of living, especially housing. “ a teacher can end up dedicating 56% of their salary to housing”, they have warned, a fact that hinders both the recruitment and retention of professionals. And a fact that frames it all, the Balearic Islands allocate 3.6% of GDP to Education, behind the 4.2% of the state average and the 6% requested by Unesco.

The proposals

Faced with this situation, entities have insisted that "the solution exists" and that it involves addressing the structural problems of the system. Specifically, they have called for "greater participation of teachers, work-life balance and well-being," in addition to "better salaries and incentives, and clear professional careers."

Furthermore, they have underlined the need for "recognition and real investment in education" as key pillars to reverse the current situation and prevent the loss of professionals. On the contrary, they have denounced that in the Balearic Islands "these problems are not being addressed and, instead, measures are being promoted that weaken the educational system," in direct reference to the exemption from the Catalan requirement.

The protest has taken place without incident and has highlighted the existing division surrounding this measure. While the Government defends it as a tool to guarantee coverage of positions, a significant part of the educational community sees it as a risk to the linguistic model and to the quality of the system. The organizers have focused the mobilization with a strong message: "Education cannot be built like this."