The new students at the school have shot up in just five years

PalmaThe education system in the Balearic Islands has grown moderately in the last five academic years, but the real change is not so much in the volume of students as in their composition, where a significant increase in late admissions is observed. Between the 2021-2022 and 2025-2026 academic years, global enrollment has gone from 226,735 to 237,867 students (+11,132, +4.9%). In parallel, students with Special Educational Support Needs (NESE) have increased from 52,680 to 57,725 (+5,045, +9.6%), an increase that reflects growing diversity within classrooms.

students with Special Educational Support Needs (NESE) have increased from 52,680 to 57,725 (+5,045, +9.6%), an increase that reflects growing diversity within classrooms.

In this scenario, the growth of NESE is not homogeneous, but rather clearly concentrated in two phenomena that impact pressure on classrooms: cases of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), which increase from 3,314 to 4,334 students (+1,020, +30.7%), and above all, students with Late Admission (IT) to the education system (mostly newcomers), which skyrocket from 1,297 to 6,814 (+5,517, +425.4%). These two groups not only grow strongly, but also significantly alter the organization of schools, the distribution of resources, and the priorities of educational attention.

The increase also occurs in a context where educational centers warn that support resources are not sufficient to respond to the range of needs they encounter daily. Profiles such as therapeutic pedagogues, Educational Technical Assistants (ATE), and speech therapists are increasingly in demand, but often scarce. ATEs constitute an especially precarious group, the lists of interim Therapeutic Pedagogues (PT) are often empty, and furthermore, participation in competitive examinations for these positions is limited, which further complicates the coverage of structural needs in the centers.

More detection

ASD shows a sustained and structural evolution: from 3,314 to 4,334 students (+30.7%). This is an increase associated with greater detection, earlier diagnoses, and an increasingly visible presence of autism within the school environment. It is not a one-off phenomenon, but a consolidated trend that requires reinforcing specialized support and adaptations within the ordinary classroom, with the aim of giving them the attention they require at all times.

However, the most significant change is the increase in late-enrolling students. In just four years, it goes from 1,297 to 6,814 students (+425.4%), more than five times as many. Late-enrolling students are considered those who join the educational system after the Primary stage has already begun, often in their last two years, or even later in exceptional cases (up to three years), especially when they come from very different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In practice, this means that many of these students arrive from abroad and need intensive support, both in language and in curricular content. In some cases, they join at advanced ages without yet mastering basic skills such as literacy.

The overall enrollment grows by 4.9%, from 226,735 to 237,867 students (+11,132), a moderate increase that has been slowing down in recent years partly as a consequence of the decline in birth rates. But this reading breaks down when the internal structure of the system is analyzed. NESE grow almost double, by 9.6%, and go from 52,680 to 57,725 students. This implies that an increasingly significant part of the student body requires some type of specific educational support. And, within this group, the growing weight of ASD and late incorporation concentrates the majority of new needs.

In contrast to the increase in NESE, Special Educational Needs (SEN) (which are included within NESE) are decreasing from 15,397 to 13,324 students (-2,073, -13.5%). This decrease affects the main categories in a generalized way (not all are detailed). Intellectual Disability (ID) goes from 3,323 students to 1,975 (-1,348, -40.6%); motor (MD), from 3,270 to 426 (-2,844, -87.0%), auditory (ASD) from 399 to 361 (-38, -9.5%) and visual (DSV) from 146 to 141 (-5, -3.4%). On the other hand, Severe Behavioral Disorders (SBD) go from 397 to 337 (−60, −16.4%), while Severe Emotional Disorders (SED) decrease from 585 to 418 (-167, -28.5%).

These variations, according to the various sources consulted, respond to changes in diagnostic criteria, reclassification processes, and a redistribution of students towards other NESE categories. “They keep incorporating new nomenclatures and categories every so often,” in the words of a Special Education Teacher (SET) consulted by ARA Balears. In any case, the trend shows a reduction in the more “traditional” profiles within NESE and SEN.

Beyond ASD and late incorporation, the main NESE categories also tend to decrease. ADHD (attention deficit) goes from 6,845 to 5,208 (-1,637, -23.9%), specific learning difficulties (SLD) from 17,641 to 14,296 (-3,344, -19.0%), high abilities (HAs) from 773 to 745 (-28, -3.6%) and socio-educational vulnerability (SEV) from 3,566 to 3,037 (-529, -14.8%). This pattern reinforces a central idea: the growth of NESE is not distributed uniformly, but rather is concentrated mainly in two very specific profiles, while the rest, in general, are declining or remain on the downturn.

The data points to a fundamental transformation. The educational system is not only growing in volume but also changing in the nature of the needs it must address. On the one hand, students with ASD are consolidating an increasing presence in classrooms. On the other hand, late enrollment introduces a flow of students highly conditioned by external factors, especially migratory ones (academic difficulties, grief due to relocation, etc.), which directly impact the organization of schools.

A silent change of model

What the data show is not just an increase in educational needs, but a change in the model, which is increasingly strained, with high ratios, increasing difficulties, burnt-out teachers, and a lack of technical profiles to address diversity

In this context, the challenge is not just quantitative. The educational system faces growing diversity and greater internal complexity that requires rethinking resources, organization, and strategies for diversity support, for the sake of a school that, according to current educational regulations, must adapt to each student's learning pace. The growth of students, in this case, is not just a matter of numbers. It is, above all, a profound transformation that is deeply impacting how centers function, and by direct link, academic results.