Montse Duran: "In some places they are more cramped, but there are no serious problems with schooling like there were 20 years ago."

BarcelonaMontse Duran is the Director General of Public Schools in the Department of Education. She spoke to ARA after the announcement made on Monday that 74,328 students enrolled in Catalan schools during this school year alone—outside of the regular enrollment period.

Almost 75,000 students enrolled in Catalan schools in a single academic year. Were you surprised by this figure?

— Yes. It's truly a significant figure, and it's not going down, although it varies greatly from region to region. It's a figure that must be kept in mind and will be at the forefront so we're not caught off guard by what may happen in the coming years.

Is this a situation that will repeat itself?

— These issues are always a prediction. In any case, if we have no indications of a recession, we must bear in mind that it could happen again. Ignoring this information would mean future problems.

You were talking about differences within the region. In which areas are schools serving the most students?

— It depends a lot on the professional offering. For example, in recent years we've had to pay more attention to areas linked to tourism, especially coastal areas, such as the La Selva region or Tarragonès, which are very clear areas. We also have large municipalities like L'Hospitalet. But we must keep in mind that it's not the number of students each region receives, but rather the proportion in relation to the population living there.

What is the highest percentage of live enrollment you have recorded?

— I don't know how to say, you would have to look at all the areas municipality by municipality and it varies every year.

But should we imagine that it is 10% or are we talking about 30%?

— Don't imagine the 30%. First, we must remember that it's not a percentage of the entire school year, but rather a percentage based on promotions. There are places where you could be at 5%, and in other places you could be at 20%.

Are you clear about the profile of these students who arrive mid-year?

— At this time, we can't provide a specific profile. The data would need to be analyzed further. But the arriving population doesn't necessarily have to be vulnerable. We have different professional profiles, from the children of air traffic controllers who come to work at El Prat Airport to people who come to harvest fruit.

But are we talking mostly about newly arrived students?

— Yes, the balance is positive. There is mobility within Catalonia, but there is also significant external immigration.

On average, there are 9,000 new students each month.

— From the perspective of the recruitment process, we work very carefully to ensure that these students aren't all concentrated in a single center. We strive for equitable distribution so as not to create ghettos, which shouldn't necessarily exist, but could end up being ones. We focus on each of the students who arrive.

They say they'll take this into account when planning places. Should we imagine half-empty classrooms at the beginning of the school year?

— Not as much as half-empty classrooms, but classrooms with fewer students, yes. These figures, taken as a whole, are shocking, but if we look at the total number of schools, classes, and groups we have in Catalonia, this distribution isn't so significant. We would never be talking about half-empty classes because the number of students arriving in this regard isn't that large.

How is it decided whether students who arrive mid-year attend a public or private school?

— The distribution work will depend on each municipality. It's a very specific task in each territory. Everything also depends on the role or distribution of public and private services in each location. But, in principle, all are recipients of the current enrollment that reaches a municipality.

There are many schools that have been warning for some time that they are at their limit.

— That's what we're working on. Sometimes, this limiting approach is more common in intermediate courses that started out very full and now, as more students have arrived, are very full. When we take a problem as a whole and say we're not getting there, it's difficult to resolve. Sometimes we talk about feelings, but to improve, what we need to do is break down those feelings to see what elements are causing them. We're working from each area to determine what measures should be implemented to support this process.

Will they put in more resources?

— At some point, we've had to add new groups throughout the school year. If new groups are added, they are assigned teachers to support them. This year, around 90 new groups have been added since the school year began. The key idea is that when the arrival of students exceeds the approved enrollment ratios, a new group is added.

What discretion do schools have in choosing whether to accept new students?

— Little because this is done by a school enrollment committee for each territory. I say little or a lot, because the schools are represented on this committee. Each territory has a comprehensive view of the situation in each school, the number of students it has, and the characteristics of the students so that they are distributed equitably.

Are teachers prepared and equipped to handle this volume of new students?

— This is not a new reality. Let's remember that in 2005, we didn't know where to place children in Catalonia. At that time, we were experiencing population growth and lacked many more places. Now, some places are more constrained than others, but there haven't been serious problems enrolling students like we did 15 or 20 years ago. Therefore, the phenomenon may be more intense than at other times, but it's not new.