More than a million students – 1,267,286 – are returning to class this year. They are slightly higher than last year (0.4 percent), and 81.7 will be destined for public or subsidized centers. This will be the training with the most students in FP, which once again breaks its record and demonstrates its strength; and content and reinforcements in English are also published, while the plan for schools open during the holidays is launched for the first time, which will welcome children before the start of the school year or during other non-school periods such as Christmas or Easter.
For the Minister of Education, Emilio Viciana, it is perhaps “the best start to classes” he can remember. But for a few days now, a strike has been called due to the union’s demand to return to the school day prior to the one that had been imposed, increased, in the midst of the economic crisis. The CC.OO. union has in fact rejected the figures for the increase in the number of teachers, which they consider false; “We challenge you to present a list of the places where the teachers you promised are.”
Vocational Training continues to stand out, for some years now, as the favorite of its class: this year it will have 178,901 students, 5.3 percent more than last year, and well above those who enroll in the Baccalaureate, which this year are 110,097. In Madrid, there are 167 different vocational training degrees in public centers; there are 17 basic degrees, 41 intermediate degrees and 87 higher degrees, in addition to 12 specializations. There are 176 public centers, which this year will have 4,600 additional places and 386 new teachers.
This year, the ratios are reduced again, this time in the three courses of the second cycle of early childhood education (from 3 to 6 years), where the maximum number of students per class goes from 25 to 20. And also in the 1st and 2nd years of ESO, where the number of students goes from 30 to 25.
The councilor wanted to emphasize the economic effort that this represents for the Community of Madrid: 166 additional teachers for preschool and 473 teachers for ESO are needed to be able to reduce the number of students per class. The reduction in ratios was a promise of the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who joins the classes course by course.
New schools
This journey begins with 17 new educational infrastructures, which have required an investment of 47.3 million euros. In total, they will add 136 classrooms and 3,300 places to the educational offer in public centers. In addition, it is planned that 21 other infrastructures will be completed throughout the school year, with a budget of 78.6 million euros: five are public nursery schools in Arganzuela, Hortaleza, Vicálvaro and Ensanche de Vallecas, and another is a secondary school, María Goyri, in Madrid.
There are also several schools and institutes that have expanded their facilities or completed phases still under construction, as well as works related to gymnasiums or air conditioning.
More teachers
This year, 1,394 teachers join those who have been working until now in the public centres of the Community of Madrid. There will be a total of 64,435 teachers and professors in the schools and institutes of the region. And to them are added the 25,840 teachers of the concerted system: in total, they reach 90,275.
Their union representatives are not giving up their efforts to return to the school schedule before the economic crisis, which had increased it by several hours. Their goal is 18 hours at the ESO and the FP, and a strike has already been called for mid-September.
Scholarships for 716,000 beneficiaries
Nearly 716,000 people will benefit from scholarships and study aid in the Community of Madrid. 269 million euros will be invested, which represents 9.3% more money. This will translate into 70,000 more people who will benefit economically from this means.
Of this total, €68 million will go to catering aid, which is launching a new application system after last year’s fiasco. In addition, there will be €67.3 million for early childhood education scholarships, €43.5 million for the baccalaureate, €33 million for vocational training, €15 for the second chance, €41 for the Accede book loan program and more than €1.1 million for transport and transportation assistance. open dining rooms outside school hours and offer breakfast.
Open schools
One of the main novelties of the course is the financing, by the Community of Madrid, of extracurricular activities and the opening of public schools on non-school days: 12 million euros have been made available to municipalities so that they can organize with the schools, these openings during holiday periods and the schedules before and after classes.
The initiative started timidly: 303 schools in 71 municipalities participated in extracurricular activities and 104 opened their doors outside of school days. They represent barely 5 percent of the total educational centers in the region and, for example, there is not a single one in the capital of Madrid.
Councillor Viciana insisted that it was proposed to all the town halls – because, as he recalled, it is not a regional competition – and that those that have been announced are those that, for the moment, have taken up the challenge.
The activities that take place during these hours outside of school hours, and for which those responsible are responsible, are something that the town halls will take care of organising themselves or through the parents’ associations, which are very used to this.
From this year onwards, extraordinary prizes will also be awarded to primary school students – as there are already at ESO, Baccalaureate, Vocational Training and Arts Education. And in terms of content, the history of Spain will be taught in Spanish in bilingual centres; at ESO, students will learn about the protection mission of the army and the police – as set out in the Constitution –, drugs, addictions and violence against others.
The Regional Executive will also strengthen the language and mathematics skills of students in preschool, primary, secondary and basic vocational education: the aim is for students to increase their reading comprehension and their ability to solve mathematical operations. For example, writing, calligraphy and spelling, dictation, written expression and reading classic tales, children’s and youth literature or poetry will be worked on. In Mathematics, the reinforcement will focus on basic operations, problem solving, numerical reasoning or financial education concepts.
On the other hand, bilingualism will also be strengthened, with new contents and using Artificial Intelligence. New optional subjects will be created for secondary school, such as milestones and heroes of English culture, taught in this language by qualified teachers. And the STEM program is extended to bilingual centers, in addition to the launch of a school radio show and another public speaking program in English.
Keep dancing
Starting in the second quarter of the school year, primary schools in the Community of Madrid are expanding the program of assistants who help train music teachers in this discipline. Last year, almost 13,000 students from 46 public or subsidized centers participated.
In addition, the Baccalaureate of Excellence will launch for the first time in the region the Arts modality, which will reach two centers this first year: the IES Isabel la Católica in Madrid and the IES Isaac Albéniz, in Leganés.
The EBAU joint, for the first time
Councilor Emilio Viciana wanted to emphasize that “this will be the course in which the common EBAU will begin.” This exam will be given in all the autonomous communities governed by the PP and will consist of applying common criteria for grading and correction, so that they have the same level in all of them.
