Catalan parents' associations warn that 169 new first-year secondary school groups must be opened to lower student-teacher ratios, as Sánchez wants.

BarcelonaA few weeks ago, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced the intention to reduce student-to-teacher ratios in secondary education throughout the country by 2028The measure, part of the Education Ministry's negotiations with unions, aims to reduce the maximum number of students per classroom in secondary schools from 30 to 25. Although this announcement is part of a draft bill the Sánchez administration is working on, the Federation of Parents' Associations now wants to achieve the goal announced by Sánchez.

According to the study Analysis of the start of the 2025/26 school year in CataloniaA plan presented this Thursday by AAFAC suggests that to reduce the student-teacher ratio in the first year of ESO (the year in which class sizes are planned), up to 169 new classes would need to be opened. Specifically, according to the AAFAC Observatory's calculations, 109 classes would be needed in public schools and 60 in private schools. However, it's important to consider that the demographic decline in Catalonia is expected to begin affecting secondary school classrooms in the coming years, with a decrease in enrollment. Until this decline becomes a reality in Catalan secondary schools, currently eight out of ten (81%) Classrooms in public high schools in Catalonia have more than 25 studentsThis proportion rises to 88% in the case of state-subsidized private schools, according to data from the 2024-2025 academic year compiled in the report. The AFFAC analysis also reveals a worrying statistic: in the first year of secondary school (ESO), two out of every five classes in state-subsidized private schools exceed the maximum student-teacher ratio allowed by law – a 10% excess is permitted – a situation also found in one out of every five first-year classes in public schools. In fact, over the last four academic years, the proportion of first-year secondary school classes with more than 30 students per classroom has increased from 15% to 19% in public schools and from 26% to 37% in state-subsidized private schools, the study confirms.

Calls to eliminate classes in state-subsidized private schools

Another challenge addressed in the report by the Federation of Parents' Associations (AAFAC) is the oversupply they estimate exists in some municipalities with a dual education system (public and subsidized private). According to the study, 139 subsidized primary school (E3) classes would have to be eliminated because they "do not meet real enrollment needs or the actual demand from families." They point out that at least 75 of the 133 municipalities with both public and subsidized private schools have an oversupply problem. The director of AAFAC, Lidón Gasull, stated that there are municipalities where "year after year there are surplus classes that, according to the census, are not necessary." She also emphasizes that the proposal to eliminate more than one hundred primary school (E3) classes does not aim to eliminate all subsidized private school offerings, but only those that are superfluous and "cause distortions in adapting educational planning to educational needs." For all these reasons, AAFAC demands that, in light of the planned renewal of funding agreements for the coming months, the Department of Education conduct a thorough review of the schooling needs of each municipality and not renew funding for groups that are not needed. Meanwhile, the Christian Confederation of Parents' Associations of Catalonia (CCAPAC), which represents more than 200 parent-teacher associations from state-subsidized schools, reiterates that in the last four academic years, state-subsidized schools It has already lost more than 400 groups And for the past two years, the number of families choosing state-subsidized private schools has been growing. "We must maintain the number of places to guarantee educational diversity and ensure it's not just a right for a select few," asserted Santi Giménez Serra, president of the CCAPAC.