Education Ministry reaches agreement with private schools for 390 million euros to address "historical underfunding"

BarcelonaA new multi-million dollar announcement from the Department of Education. After this Monday The government will reach an agreement with CCOO and UGT, but without Ustec —the majority union—Following the announcement of plans to improve teachers' working conditions and classroom situations with an investment of nearly €2 billion, President Salvador Illa signed an agreement on Tuesday to increase funding for state-subsidized private schools by €390 million over five years. According to sources at the Department of Education, the investment aims to address "the historical underfunding of state-subsidized private schools." The agreement, signed with the associations representing state-subsidized private schools, will tackle three weaknesses in the system. Firstly, from this year until 2030, €193 million will be allocated to cover the operating expenses of state-subsidized private schools and institutes in Catalonia, which comprise nearly 700 educational centers nationwide. Secondly, the agreement also includes rectifying a long-standing grievance affecting state-subsidized private schools: the failure to update teaching staffing levels. To this end, €155 million will be allocated to staffing levels in schools and institutes, which had not been reviewed since the 1995-1996 academic year. Finally, the agreement also addresses the lack of resources in some private schools to serve socioeconomically vulnerable students (NESE B). In this regard, over the next five years, the Catalan Government will invest €41 million in so-called "school backpacks," that is, aid to cover the educational costs of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Moving towards stability

With these three financial injections, the Department of Education believes that a "more favorable improvement for schools with students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds" is being implemented, and that progress is being made towards a more stable and equitable education system. The agreement was signed this Tuesday morning by President Isla with representatives from the following employers' associations: the Christian School Foundation of Catalonia (FECC), the Catalan School Association (AEC), the Professional Association of Educational Services of Catalonia (APSEC), the Catalan Federation of Schools (FCCE), and the Confederation of Autonomous Schools.