2023-12-18 06:47:24
This Wednesday marked six months since one of the most anticipated replacements on the front line of the Generalitat: the arrival of Anna Simó at the head of the Department of Education, replacing Josep González-Cambray. The councilor managed to extend the agony for two years, a longer period than the polls predicted, after unions, families and political parties had repeatedly demanded his resignation by land, sea and air almost from the beginning of his time at the head of the Department. Until now, Simó’s stage has not been free of shocks. Once the hundred days of grace have passed, the brand new Minister of Education has already fulfilled half a year to the new position and scrutiny of their work becomes necessary. Especially after two hectic weeks of brutal disaster What the results of the PISA 2022 tests have entailed, and all the fuss that has accompanied it.
Where did we come from?
Before getting into the matter, it is essential to give a brief review of the two fateful years that marked the final defeat of Cambray. The man from Lleida arrived at the head of Education collecting the testimony of Josep Bargalló who had earned the enmity of the unions, leading the Department during the complicated period marked by the pandemic. In an attempt to punch the table and open a new era of trustCambray encouraged teachers to become the “protagonists” of the educational field, coinciding with the moment that ERC was heading the Generalitat Government under Pere Aragonès.
Nothing is further from reality. Despite having had to face the sentences of 25% of Spanish against linguistic immersion, and achieve important advances such as implementing free I2 in kindergartens, lowering the ratios to I3, steps in the fight against school segregation and the reduction of one teaching hour for teachers – a historical demand of the sector that meant the incorporation of more than 3,500 teachers—Cambray will be especially remembered for the wave of strikes to be faced and the general unrest in the sector. Everything, with its origin in the decision to advance the school calendar, a measure that did not fully satisfy the educational community in substance, but that generated unanimous rejection due to its forms.
Close the Cambray stage
With the arrival of Anna Simó at the helm, the Department of Education has made an effort to turn the page on the disastrous Cambray period without having to turn the helm. With the desire to give continuity to the management of ERC to the Generalitat, the option chosen has been that of the silent reliefs. There are various relevant positions that have been dismissed during the last six months, since Cambray’s departure, often relocated to other positions. This was the case of Núria Mora, former secretary of Educational Transformation; Jean-Marc Segarra, former director general of Public Centers—later director of the new Coordination Program for Government delegations abroad; Montserrat Soler, former high-ranking secretary at the Ministry; and Blanca de Gispert, former director of Services—later auditor of the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia. Now, for the unions this is an insufficient movement. “The entire Cambray team must be terminated“demands the UGT representative Jesús Martín. “His inheritance needs to be buried“.
For workers’ organizations, the Lleidano stage was especially worrying. Martín himself affirms that the measures announced by the minister were defined by “imposition” and that they were “marked by pride“. Contrasts with Anna Simó’s ways of doing things.”The tone is better, with a more conversational mood“, he says. USTEC spokesperson Iolanda Segura agrees, saying that it has a “more open attitude” with certain issues, and is “more willing” to dialogue with the unions and listen to the opinions of experts.
“There is no substantial policy change”
But this change in attitude has not translated into the substance of the matter. From the unions, they warn that Simó has not broken with the Cambray stage with respect to educational measures. Martin states that “there has been no substantial change in policies“, and Segura adds that no “progress” has been seen.
In fact, in some respects they are even setbacks. During the first half of the year, Cambray met with the unions in order to definitively turn the page to the cuts and their effects, reversing three measures that were applied due to the 2008 crisis and that had not yet been recovered: the return of the six-year term and the recognition of the accumulated debt, the reduction of working hours for those over 55 years of age, and the Salary equalization for technical Vocational Training teachers without a university degree. In January, the councilor made a positive proposal that had to be refined, and which was improved for a new meeting in June. But when everything seemed to indicate that there would be an agreement between Education and the unions to end the controversy over the cuts, Simó came in and negotiations had to start almost from scratch. The two parties have held new meetings this month, and labor organizations regret that they have been presented with “more reduced” proposals than the initial ones last January. “It has neither head nor tail, we will not sign that“, criticizes Segura.
The disaster of the PISA
To all the debate around these negotiations we must add the headache that the PISA report has caused, and which has placed Catalan students below the average of Spain and the OECD countries in mathematics, science and reading. Anna Simó reacted to the dismal results by warning that they could not “turn the wheel” and not “improvise”, thus ruling out short-term measures and proposing 10 future objectives. “We have to close ranks“He asked the entire educational community, including unions, teachers and families.
“It’s a fallacy. Close ranks around what? Of cuts and inaction?“Martín asks. Similarly, Segura regrets that the ten long-term measures are “very globalized and without specifying anything.” “Everything has been improvisation, there has never been planning“. In this sense, the councilor’s words have not been well received by the unions, who urge to reverse as soon as possible the terrible structural situation suffered by teachers in order to turn around the poor levels of the students. “We want to improve the conditions of the education system, but we cannot close ranks with Education when they do not take us into consideration“, concludes the USTEC spokeswoman.
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