They denounce the devaluation of Catalan grades in Secondary and Baccalaureate education.

PalmNew linguistic controversy in the Balearic Islands.STEI The union has expressed its strong disagreement with the proposal from the Balearic Government's Department of Culture to update the equivalency of ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education) and Bachillerato (Upper Secondary Education) qualifications with official Catalan language certificates. The initiative plans to lower the minimum grade required to obtain a B2 level in Secondary Education and a C1 level in Bachillerato from 8 to 7. The union denounces that this measure is justified by the need to adapt to the new qualitative grading system, but considers that, in reality, it represents another concession by the Popular Party government to Vox's demands to "devalue and belittle" the Catalan language in the Balearic Islands. According to STEI, the decision contrasts with indicators that point to a progressive decline in the level of Catalan proficiency among students year after year.

At the end of last year, the Plenary of Social Council of the Catalan LanguageThe Balearic Islands' leading advisory body on language policy has approved a package of urgent measures to halt the decline in the use of Catalan. The document, prepared by the Language Planning Commission, passed with 21 votes in favor, while 24 members—mostly affiliated with the People's Party—abstained, and Vox voted against. The decline of Catalan in the Balearic Islands is evident in multiple areas, from the education system and universities to the workplace and public services. At the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), internal reports have shown an insufficient presence of Catalan in both teaching and research in recent years. In response, the UIB's Governing Council has approved the new Language Plan 2026-2030, which establishes the strategic guidelines for strengthening its use in the immediate future.

Regarding compulsory education, the results of the tests conducted by the Institute for the Evaluation of the Quality of the Education System (IAQSE) for the 2024-2025 academic year confirm a significant decline in the level of Catalan among students. In the second year of ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education), the average score has fallen by 15 points, with particularly pronounced drops in Menorca and the Pitiusas Islands, where the decline exceeds 20 points and affects both comprehension and the regular use of the language in the classroom.

At the same time, the process of linguistic segregation in the classrooms of the Islands continues to gain ground. Looking ahead to the 2025-2026 school year, a total of 19 educational centers – all from the subsidized network – have requested to join the pilot plan for free choice of school, known as the Linguistic Segregation Plan. The figure represents a notable increase compared to the previous year, when only 11 schools had joined it.

New order

The new order from the Ministry of Culture, as criticized by the STEI union, also introduces a relaxation of the requirements for the validation of Catalan certificates for students who have completed part of their studies outside Catalan-speaking territories. The union believes this measure also contributes to lowering the standards for learning the language itself. STEI sources consider this proposal part of a strategy to marginalize Catalan within the educational sphere and warn that the Balearic Government is acting under the influence of far-right positions opposed to the presence and solid learning of Catalan in education. The union has announced that it will fight this initiative in all relevant negotiation forums and will use all available tools to defend the rights of Catalan speakers and the prestige of the Catalan language in the education system.