It can’t be done. The project that the Department of Education of the Community of Madrid has to return 1st and 2nd years of ESO to schools goes against the educational law, specifically against what is stipulated in Royal Decree 132/2010, of February 12, which establishes the conditions that secondary schools must meet. Specifically, article 13.2 says: “In secondary education centers that offer compulsory secondary education, the four courses that make up this educational stage must be taught, subject to the academic regulations in force.”
The Ministry of Education avoids commenting on possible actions because for the moment the Madrid project is just that, a project that is not reflected anywhere beyond declarations of intent, and therefore there is no concrete element to resort to. But he is vigilant, because the Community of Madrid has publicly announced its intention to make this change next year.
The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, announced during the last debate on the state of the region two educational developments: the return of Primary schools to the split day – in the Community of Madrid the usual is the continuous one – and the return of 1st and 2nd years of ESO to schools. In the old BUP and COU system, secondary school – and therefore the change of center – began in what is now 3rd year of ESO, with students aged 14 or 15.
The idea is to carry out a kind of generalization of the CEIPSO (School of Early Childhood, Primary and Compulsory Secondary Education), a scarce center model designed for exceptional situations, such as rural education, where it is more difficult to bring together students for all the stages.
Later it would be known that, as is usual in the Ayuso Government, both decisions were made without consulting the educational community. Neither unions nor associations of directors nor families nor the School Council, which brings together all parties, were asked. The back to the split day It was received positively at least by those involved: although it is not decisive and goes against the personal experience of many teachers and some families, the existing literature tends to defend that educationally it is better to take a break at midday.
The change in the organizational structure has not suffered the same fate. The president explained at the time that these two measures are taken because “they will help combat school dropouts, improve student performance, their rest or their eating habits, as well as fight against loneliness, addictions or possible influence of youth gangs”, the same message, literally word for word, that the counselor, Emilio Viciana, conveyed last Tuesday when he explained that the feasibility of some centers is being “studied” to implement it starting next year. Union sources explain to this newspaper that negotiations are already underway with some specific schools.
Widespread opposition
Without needing to go into what the law says, opposition to this measure comes to Ayuso from the unions, the main association of secondary school principals in the Community of Madrid, basic teachers or the university. It is not necessary, no one is asking for it, it attacks a problem that does not exist and will not solve those that are real and will also generate organizational problems, some and others warn. Only the FAPA Giner de los Ríos, which brings together AMPAs from across the region, is open “depending on the details,” explains María Carmen Morillas, its president. The problem is that at the moment there are few details.
“The inclusion of the first two ESO courses in the CEIPs (schools) has not been and is not a demand from families or professionals, and announcing it like this, without any real and important debate with those affected, is a sign of to what extent the Community of Madrid does not act by listening but by imposing,” they explain from the Less Lectivas Assembly, which brings together basic teachers from across the region. “The Ministry seeks to generate noise instead of addressing the real demands of the educational community, such as the reduction of real ratios, teaching hours or resources for attention to diversity, as well as the end of educational segregation,” they add. .
There are problems in 1st and 2nd. But is this going to be solved by leaving them in schools? I doubt it. Other measures must be proposed. We need teachers with more pedagogical training to adequately serve these students
Rosa Rocha
— President of Adimad (association of directors of public institutes of Madrid)
This reproach is shared. “There are problems in 1st and 2nd grades,” concedes Rosa Rocha, president of Adimad, the association of directors of public schools in Madrid. “There are students, especially with a certain profile, who experience difficulties. The change of stage [de Primaria a Secundaria] it’s complicated and there are those who get bored, who don’t want to be there, become disruptive and end up quitting. But is this going to be solved by leaving them in schools? I doubt it. Other measures must be proposed. We need teachers with more pedagogical training to adequately serve these students. There is no talk of ratios, of support for diversity. “I think it’s an idea from the counselor’s advisors,” he reflects.
A similar speech is given by Isabel Galvín, head of the CCOO educational federation in Madrid. “This issue is not relevant in international investigations, no expert focuses on this issue. Ratios, school hours, cafeterias, attention to diversity, co-tutoring, student profiles… That is where the focus is placed to solve problems in the educational system,” he reflects. “Are there problems with coexistence in the centers? There is the figure of the well-being coordinator, but teachers must be hired to reinforce it. You could also lower the ratio of students per counselor, which is at 1,500 when the recommendation is 250. Are you worried about early leaving? “Let the figure of mentors become widespread,” offers solutions. But, be aware, those solutions require money. More than enabling classrooms. “But without more measures, without economic memory, it is like moving furniture from one place to another.”
If we return to the previous situation, in effective terms the quality of the workers’ working conditions will worsen, since we will go from having secondary school teachers to primary teachers, with worse salaries and worse conditions.
Teaching Hands
For the head of the community’s main union, “Ayuso encourages families’ fear” of their children going to high school at the age of 12, where those in high school, aged 17, share spaces. “It’s going back to the 80s,” she maintains. Rocha, the high school director, turns the argument around: “What is going to happen when those 13 and 14 year old boys get together with the little ones from the schools?” she asks.
Who teaches class?
There is also the melon of the teachers who are going to attend those Secondary courses in Primary schools. On the one hand, CEIP teachers have not been able to teach in ESO for a long time except for very few exceptions more related to the world of guidance and attention to diversity, so they should be secondary school teachers.
But with these another problem arises, in this case of schedules: subjects with many hours per week such as Mathematics and Language can be covered with full-time teachers. But in others, such as Music or Technology, there are not enough weekly hours to fill an entire day, which will require either having part-time teachers or having itinerant specialists who go from center to center.
Ayuso encourages the fear of families. It’s back to the 80s
Isabel Galvin
— responsible for the educational federation of CCOO in Madrid
Or, even worse, says Menos Lectivas, that they intend to return to teachers teaching in Secondary School. “If we return to the previous situation, in effective terms the quality of the workers’ working conditions will worsen, since we will go from having secondary school teachers to primary teachers, with worse salaries and worse conditions,” they maintain. “The teachers have enormous discomfort,” says Galvín, who predicts that if this change ends up being carried out, it will be carried out based on traveling teachers from school to school.
For its part, UGT threatens to go to court in case the incorporation of 1st and 2nd ESO courses in public Infant and Primary schools is successful. In a statement, the union has stated that it is studying “if the Articles 4 and 24 of the LOMLOE could be violated.”
The argument of the Community of Madrid is that there are already around 40 centers that offer the Infant, Primary and Secondary stages together, known as CEIPSO, but only about 10 limit the added courses up to the second year of ESO, according to sources from the Ministry of Education. UGT explains that these were opened “temporarily” and that “it is assumed that they will also implement 3rd and 4th ESO”, so their situation is judicially valid.
Where are the facilities?
In addition to the general limitation established by Royal Decree 132/2010, those who oppose the change put forward more legal arguments against it. For example, regarding the facilities that an institute must have, in addition to the physical space for classes. They are established in the same RD, which says in its article 14 what each center must have: “For every 12 units or fraction, a workshop classroom for technologies and two classrooms for activities related to the subjects of music and plastic and visual education. respectively; At least one Experimental Sciences laboratory for every 12 units or fraction; One space for every eight units for group splitting and another for pedagogical support and reinforcement activities.”
All of this will have to be created in the schools that take 1st and 2nd ESO, because the CEIPs do not have those facilities. “The lack of adequate infrastructure (laboratories, technology workshop, computer rooms, etc.) could compromise the optimal development of classes in some subjects,” recalls Menos Lectivas.
The teachers are willing to fight it. The Less Lectivas assembly announces two days of struggle on October 29 and November 21. “They will impose it, so there will be resignations and requirements, Galvín predicts. “Eventually the courts will overturn it and the people affected will have suffered irreparable harm.”
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