We're not going to destroy educational leadership now.

A school, like any complex human organization, needs leadership, direction, someone at the helm who takes the risk of making the final decisions. In the case of educational institutions, this doesn't mean going against the teamwork of the teaching staff. It's not that at all. A principal is someone who takes responsibility for representing the entire educational community: teachers, students, families, administrations, the surrounding community... Someone who, if they do it well, promotes internal and external dialogue, strives to retain talent and strengthen the team, looks after the working conditions of colleagues, seeks to strengthen the school's identity, and ensures consistency. Leading with intelligence, empathy, and credibility is as complicated as it is necessary. Not everyone is willing to do it, nor is it easy. Training is also necessary for leadership. And rewards. And the tools to do it.

The Catalan public education sector, the largest (serving 65% of students), has several deep-seated problems. It has been losing social prestige for some years and is experiencing a crisis in results. One of the causes is the lack of leadership in schools, which is not the case in the semi-private sector (24% of the total) or in the private sector (11%). Of course, there are other unresolved problems in education: the contentious methodological debates, the management of inclusive education, and the loss of authority (not to be confused with authoritarianism) of teachers. Also, of course, there is the issue of salaries and working conditions, around which an agreement has now been reached between the Government and the minority unions (CCOO and UGT).

But the issue of leadership is no small matter. And within its relevance, one of the key elements is the ability of principals to choose the teachers best suited to their project. In fact, the OECD points out that the best-performing systems tend to give principals greater power to participate in teacher selection. This is a key tool, not only for finding professionals who are a good fit for the school or institute (for example, in an environment with high immigration, it makes sense to look for teachers from immigrant families), but also because this, in turn, allows for talent retention and the consolidation of teams, which is another of the public sector's major shortcomings, where every year there's a complete overhaul of the school system. Can anyone imagine a job where, systematically, a third of the staff is new each year?

Better talent acquisition, not strictly tied to seniority as the key merit, is a decisive step in this direction. The Catalan Education Law (LEC) stipulates that up to 50% of vacancies can be filled through targeted appointments, meaning positions chosen based on qualifications—via CVs and personal interviews conducted by school administrators—and not seniority. Until now, only 7% had been achieved. With the new government-union agreement, this percentage will be reduced even further. This is a severe blow to school autonomy and leadership. It does a disservice to public education. Principals who believed that a systemic change was underway feel deceived and disappointed. This is understandable. The regression is inexplicable.