Even though it is also starting to have –needless to say– its deniers, the PISA report continues to be a reliable and reference instrument in the educational field. The dismal results obtained by the Spanish state in the latest edition, clearly below the European average in reading and mathematics, confirm all fears. The unrest of teachers is expressed through strikes and protests on the first day of class: criticizing and devaluing these protests is a temptation that some politicians and commentators fall into, but that is falling into the classic error of killing the messenger. With their mobilizations, teachers and professors come to give the same bad news as the PISA report: the situation of public education is not sustainable and it is necessary to work on it in an extremely urgent and serious way. It is necessary to work on reality and not on words, speeches, or slogans. There is an inversely proportional relationship between the highly delicate nature of the educational system and the flood of voices that feel emboldened to have their say with pretensions of pontificating. Those who best know the classrooms are those who work there day by day, and it is them who must be listened to and followed.The chaos is widespread throughout the Spanish state, and Catalonia is no exception: not even with the deviation caused by a biased sample that has invalidated the tests (something much worse than a simple error, in a Government that has made an alleged good management of public services its banner), the results obtained by Catalonia are not significantly better than in Spain. Catalonia, which has always stood out for being an advanced country in terms of educational quality in relation to its environment, does have reasons to speak, in this case, of decline, of free fall, or of any metaphor for defeat. The Basque Country is not spared either, which was the other nation on the Peninsula that had traditionally stood out in educational matters.The right to education must be respected, says President Salvador Illa. Indeed, only this right has some surnames that cannot be left unsaid: the right to public and quality education must be respected. And in Catalan. The autonomous communities have transferred educational competence, and in many – governed by the PP or by the PP with Vox – a frontal offensive against public education is observed at all levels, from primary school to university. In the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands, and also in Aragon, the offensive is also against the Catalan language. The aim is to turn public school into a space of conflict, to scare families and redirect them to charter and private schools. In Catalonia, the political and judicial offensive against those who hate the Catalan school comes from way back, and all kinds of discourses and theories are added that intend to use teachers and students as guinea pigs for all kinds of false debates. Let the teachers teach, let the students learn, and respect the right to strike and the right to public, quality education in Catalan.

Next week, schools and high schools will reopen their doors. Thousands of children and adolescents will reunite with their classmates, meet the education professionals who will accompany them every day, and resume a routine that is much more than going to class: it is learning, growing, socializing, and finding a space of protection and opportunities.And like every year, we return to talk about the cost of materials, whether there will be enough teaching staff, the available public places, the school canteen, and the conditions of the educational centers. This year, in addition, we are talking about mobilizations. And also about what will happen with the field trips that many centers will stop doing.But it is not enough to take inventory of shortcomings every month of September. It is necessary to ask oneself what Catalan public education really needs. The problems that we will face again this September are not new, they are not unforeseen, and they are not solved with patches. They are the result of political decisions accumulated year after year.Public education does not need gestures. It needs a clear, sustained, and honest political commitment. And this commitment begins with how we plan the educational offer. It is necessary to guarantee a sufficient public network in each territory, for all children and adolescents, and to strengthen it instead of weakening it. Year after year, groups are closed in public schools, and, paradoxically, educational grants that do not respond to the country's real educational needs are maintained, or even expanded.And it also involves a matter that can no longer be postponed: the free nature of public education. It is not normal, nor has it ever been, for families to have to bear costs linked to schooling. Every euro that a family pays to educate their son or daughter in the public system is one more inequality that the system tolerates. Access to quality public education cannot depend on the income of each household.This issue goes beyond the expenses strictly linked to what happens inside the classroom. Let us think, for example, about the school canteen, which should be free and universal and form part of an educational policy that guarantees equity; or about the outings and activities that schools incorporate into their educational project, and which currently can depend on financial contributions from families or on the availability of professionals to make them possible depending on the school.

Not a day goes by without current events giving us a reason to think deeply about the state of the country and arrive at some pessimistic provisional conclusions.

"I have a school very close to home, but there are so many vulnerable students." "I've found a high school with resources, good teachers, and attractive facilities, but it takes in too many immigrants and children from dysfunctional families." "I'm interested in a school's educational project, but it's extremely complex..." Now that school pre-registration is approaching, it's no surprise to hear phrases like these, which contribute to the continued high level of segregation in our education system. The problem is not solved, even though the [report/document/report/etc.] was published in 2019. Pact against School Segregation, signed by the Catalan Ombudsman, the Catalan Government, and several city councils.