Public and private schools: what unites the protests?

We are experiencing intense weeks of strikes, protests, and agreements in education. There is concern, uncertainty, and exhaustion within the sector, but also commitment, enthusiasm, and an admirable determination to continue providing education.

Thousands of education professionals have taken to the streets. The strikes have given them a platform to express their discontent with the salary, working conditions, and organizational structure of the education system. It has been a time of clear demands: more resources to create an inclusive school, less bureaucracy, reduced class sizes, and salary increases. The government has reached an agreement with some unions, but the debate and mobilizations in public schools continue.

There have also been separate demands in state-subsidized private schools. For the first time, families, unions, and employers have joined forces to ensure their demands are heard. The historical underfunding of state-subsidized private schools does not cover the actual cost of tuition, jeopardizing the sustainability of these schools and the effective free education for families. The recent agreement to improve funding for state-subsidized private schools is a decisive step toward their recognition as a structural part of the education system.

These might seem like separate struggles. But upon closer inspection, what's at stake is the education system in Catalonia, and the quality and equity of the education system itself. On the ground, teachers share students, territory, and social challenges. When class begins, what matters is not the school's ownership, but the student's needs. And when the student's interests are prioritized, public and private schools cooperate. In many municipalities, planning committees, local educational plans, and local anti-segregation committees involve schools from both networks to distribute enrollment, coordinate resources, and promote community projects. Faced with concrete problems—growing vulnerability, classroom complexity, educational transitions, school dropout rates—shared responsibility and collaborative governance are essential.

What's at stake is the right to education and the resources to make it possible. One of the slogans of the demonstrations was "We're educating the future with resources from the past." Other banners read, "Vocation doesn't justify precarious work" and "Vocation doesn't pay the bills."

Let's talk about vocation, because these past few days an image has struck me: the embrace between two teachers. An intimate and moving gesture that I witnessed during a training session, almost with a sense of shame, as if I had entered a sacred space unannounced. They were embracing after reflecting, at my suggestion, in a primary school faculty meeting, on the reasons for becoming teachers. What has brought you here? What motivates you? What people and moments have been decisive in your journey?

The embrace expressed that, beyond insufficient salaries, suffocating bureaucracy, and funding models, there is a personal story behind every vocation and a deep conviction that, in education, every gesture matters and can change a life. There was a shared awareness of the difficulty and, at the same time, the privilege of being a teacher. The perception that educating is a demanding job, often underappreciated, but profoundly transformative. The teaching vocation cannot be an excuse to make anyone's work precarious, but neither is it a minor detail. Professionalism in teaching is not opposed to vocation: it makes it possible and sustains it.

However, in this debate, the crucial role of school leaders is often overlooked. At a time when conditions and changes are being negotiated with unions, it is a serious mistake to underestimate the professionalism of those who lead schools. Reducing autonomy or decision-making power in school leadership does not strengthen the system; it weakens it. Because a good principal is, above all, the one who creates the conditions for teachers to work with purpose, confidence, and motivation. Teacher well-being and quality are built from the leadership of schools. In this sense, governance in public and charter schools is very different, and it jeopardizes the proclaimed improvement of public education.

The teaching vocation is the heart that makes the system beat; therefore, it is necessary to talk about it. Without teachers committed to what they do, no reform can withstand the pressure, nor can any budget save anything. If we want a country that puts education at its center, we need fair funding and decent working conditions., But it also requires smart governance. And to make this possible, strong leadership from school administrators and a comprehensive educational project are needed to nurture and cultivate a sense of vocation, because schools are built by professionals who, nevertheless, continue to believe that education is worthwhile.