The PISA fiasco and political responsibilities
BarcelonaThe Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, has finally given explanations about this year's PISA test fiasco, in which Catalonia will not be able to compare results with previous editions because the sample is not representative. Let's remember that in the Catalan case, up to 23% of students were discarded when the maximum allowed is only 5%. And this, despite the fact that the National Institute for Educational Evaluation (INEE), the state body coordinating the tests, warned Catalan authorities on seven occasions that this deviation was occurring. However, no one did anything to solve the problem, and the result has been disastrous, as Catalonia will live in the dark for six years regarding the evaluation of the educational system.
The fiasco has cost the position of the department's number two, Teresa Sambola, who will be replaced by the current manager of the Barcelona City Council, Marta Clari. This is how Minister Niubó assumes political responsibility for the case, but now it must also be clarified why the disaster occurred. So far, three disciplinary proceedings have been opened. One against a senior official in the department for "omissions that constitute carelessness or negligence in the fulfillment of established obligations," and two more for serious misconduct against two civil servants. It should be noted that none of these individuals are still active.
The regulations stipulate that the management of the proceedings can be extended for up to two years from now, although the department's intention is not to exhaust this period. Precisely, this case should also serve to accelerate the reform of the administration that Salvador Illa's government wants to implement precisely to streamline proceedings and the assumption of responsibilities by civil servants who do not comply with their assigned duties. Human error is always understandable, and the administration must find a way to minimize its impact, but when it comes to manifest and sustained incompetence over time, regardless of whether there is bad faith or not, the civil servant must be removed from their position and, in specific cases, left without a post. We cannot claim that this has been the case until the proceedings are concluded and those affected have been able to file all appeals, but it is evident that the administration has, in this area, a structural problem.
The fact of not having comparable PISA results cannot be an excuse for not subjecting the Catalan education system to continuous evaluation. We cannot wait three years to know where we stand, because that would be equivalent to falling behind other countries and autonomous communities. This error forces Salvador Illa's executive to focus even more on education as an absolute priority, both in terms of allocating resources and in pedagogical approaches. Because the world will not be waiting for us when, in 2029, we have comparable PISA results.
