Cabinet Approves Controversial Education Bill That Bows to Demands of the Church

7/27/2019 Cabinet Approves Controversial Education Bill That Bows to Demands of the Church

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LOMCE IS PASSED IN SPAIN

The Cabinet has just approved on 17th May the controversial Education Bill ( LOMCE, which stands for

Organic Law for the Improvement of Quality in Education) that bows to demands of the church. These

reforms are being strongly criticized by other political parties and a significant number of educators.

The conservative Popular Party (PP) has introduced a few changes to its initial draft to try to

accommodate objections raised by the State Council. For instance, both religion class and itsalternative, cultural and social values, will count towards a high-school students average grade, a

determining factor in obtaining scholarships.

What this measure seeks is to stop children from dropping religion class. They [the government]

think that by making it count towards the average, theyll stop the drain, says Fernando Delgado,

president of the secular association Europa Laica.

The bill also stipulates that the central government will advance money to private schools that accept

students who cannot find enough classes in the Spanish language at public schools. This measure is

tailor-made for Catalonia, where some families have complained about being forced to send theirchildren to Catalan-only classes. What is more, the money will come out of Catalonias coffers, since

Madrid will simply withhold the amount from routine budget transfers.

This has already drawn criticism from Catalan government officials. Education Commissioner Irene

Rigau said on Friday that this is not an education law, this is a recentralizing law.( El Pais, English

edition )

A. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN YOUR OWN WORDS. ( 2pts)

1. What are the two main objections raised to the Bill?

2. What motivates the Catalan government officials

rejection of some of the proposalsincluded in the bill?

B. SAY IF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE TRUE OR FALSE. FIND EVIDENCE IN THE TEXT TO SUPPORT YOUR

ANSWER ( 1 pt)

1. Only those students getting a good average grading in Religion or Cultural Values will be

allowed to apply for an scholarship

2. The bill introduces measures to support the official language

C. FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS OR EXPRESIONS TO MATCH THE FOLLOWING DEFINITIONS ( 1 pt)

a. Created to carry out a particular purpose ( par. 4)

b. Early version of a project ( par. 2)

c. Gradual loss or outflow ( par. 3)

d. Refrain from giving/ keep back ( par.4)

D. TRANSFORM THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES AS INDICATED ( 2 pts)

a. Reforms are being strongly criticized by other parties and many educators ( to ACTIVE)

b. The Popular Party has introduced changes to the initial draft to accommodate objectionsraised by the State Council. If the

c. By making it count towards the average, theyll stop the drain

They. CONSEQUENTLY

d. The bill will allocate funds for only Spanish-speaking students. This has drawn criticism

from Catalan Ofiicials ( RELATIVE)


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WRITE A COMPOSITION ON THE FOLLOWING TOPIC (100-120 WDS) ( 4 pts)

SHOULD RELIGION BE A SUBJECT AT SCHOOL OR ELSE A PRIVATE MATTER TO BE LEARN AND DEALT WITH AT

HOME?

The Spanish cabinet on Friday approved a controversial new bill which force pupils to choose earlier either an

academic or a vocational path, as it tries to cut a youth unemployment rate of 57 percent.

The Organic Law for the Improvement of Educational Quality (LOMCE) has caused controversy in the education

sector.

Last week teachers, students and parents in opposition launched a strike against the bill, which they insist it is

"an abuse and will generate discrimination in the sector."

Opponents of the bill highlight the fact that it ends the teaching of the subject of "Citizenship" and that in the

Catalan region, in the northeast of the country, it will affect the use of the Catalan language, given that centers

may be obliged to pay for private schools for students demanding classes completely in Spanish.

The law also offers public finance for schools which want to segregate students by sex, making single sex

schools and classes much easier, while at the same time providing state finance for church run schools.

The LOMCE will also bring in national examinations at the end of every level of state education and two courses

for students aged 15 or over, with one of the courses aimed at those who have made slower educational

progress, aimed at allowing them to acquire a minimum professional qualification.

Once again opponents affirm this will create a two-tier education system, forcing some students to the

"educational dustbin" from an early age to low skill and low paid jobs.

The protests against the law will continue, despite the fact Education Minister Jose Ignacio Wert insists that "no

educational reform has had as much dialogue over it as this one."

Opposition groups highlight the fact that strikes in the system show the lack of consensus, saying "the fact it is

going to be imposed shows it cannot be the result of consensus" and "we cannot allow the luxury of changing

the model of education every time there is a change of government."

This is the seventh law affecting public education since the arrival of democracy in Spain in late 1970s.


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Controversial reform in educationThe PP blocks the reproof of Wert, but in its ranks there is no consensus on his proposals

5 NOV 2012 - 19:09 CET

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Enviar a TuentiEnviar a MenameEnviar a EskupEnviarImprimirGuardar The Popular Party (PP) has blocked the first parliamentary motion of censure brought against a minister of the

PP government of Mariano Rajoy. For a day the Socialist Party managed to heat up the congressional

atmosphere, presenting this motion against the Education Minister Jos Ignacio Wert, which was seconded by

the left and by the regional nationalists.

The opposition, as the parliamentary debate made clear, believes that Werts educational reform, together with

recent budget cuts, threatens the quality of the Spanish educational system, and tends to a recentralization of

that system in that it amplifies the common Spain-wide curriculum. This would, for example as the minister

himself put it Hispanicize Catalan schoolchildren, who in recent years have been receiving some content of

immersion courses in the Catalan language.

The PPs clear parliamentary majority has been sufficient to prevent the approval of a reproof which, in any

case, is only of a symbolic nature.

Nor, however, in the governing party is there any solid consensus on the reforms being proposed by the

minister. Within the PP the reasons for discrepancy are different from those voiced by other political formations,

but the disagreement complicates the political situation of a minister who has already been arousing widespread

rejection throughout the educational community.

This rejection now extends to the parents of schoolchildren, who, some weeks ago, in an unprecedented

decision, joined the university students strike against Wert and his proposed measures. The PP, by way of its

education commissioners in the regional governments, is demanding more subsidies for (mostly Catholic)

private schools, and is concerned about the cost of the external validation exams that the minister wishes to

impose at the end of the primary and secondary stages of schooling. These criticisms some shared by the

Socialists have at least moved Wert to widen the margin for debate, which is positive.

The problem is that his reform, as it now stands, is not, as it claims to be, a law essentially aimed at improving

the quality of education. Some proposals, though questionable, are determined by budget restrictions fewer

teachers, more pupils per class. Others, such as the continuance of public subsidies to Church-run schools

segregated by sex, the streaming that would oblige pupils to decide at an early age between vocational and

academic lines, and the recentralization of curriculum content, cannot really be said to constitute improvements,

and, besides, since they are being colored with rightist ideology, threaten certain aspects of the system.

Meanwhile, Werts failure to appear at the parliamentary plenary session where the motion for his censure was

debated, and his public remarks on how boring the parliamentary voting process can be, add up to one further

detail of his professional style that does not help to ease the general tension.
http://elpais.com/tag/fecha/20121105http://elpais.com/tag/fecha/20121105http://elpais.com/tag/fecha/20121105


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The story on current education reforms in Spain: The past will come

back

Image by Jan Slangen via Flickr

During the time when Spain was ruled by a dictator, girls and boys went to different schools, or

they were at least subject to class segregation. Typically, the rich and middle class children

went to private religious schools, and the poor children from the suburbs and/or villages went

to public schools. A crucifix was also present in all classrooms; it was placed in the front of

the room to preside over all classrooms.

Compulsory external assessments were the norm for students at both ages 14 and 16, and those

that failed their exams could not progress in their studies; those students had to either wait ayear to retake the exam, or enrol in a VET program (because in Spain one typically enrolled in

VET only if he or she was not a good student, or due to the inability for some families to

afford university).

Though this was the main issue for many families, many students were lucky to even complete

their primary education.

Despite the fact that Spain is a multicultural country with at least four languages, all

education was only carried out in Castilian, and children were taught that all other languages

were "dialects".

Eventually, as democracy was restored, education began to improve. Nowadays girls and boys are

educated together in public schools (but there are still shameful occurrences wherein public

funds are given to private schools which continue to segregate sexes). Public Schools are

democratically ruled; religion is not a compulsory subject any more; and education is conducted

in Basque, Catalonian, Valencian, Galician, as well as in Castilian. Students are not externally

assessed; there are not school rankings.Gradually, the teaching profession has become more attractive. In public schools, teachers are

relatively well paid, and teachers must pass difficult exams to obtain tenure in public schools;

but there is still a lot to be done and many challenges to overcome in Spain s education system.

The maximum public expenditure in education reached just 5.01% of the GPD in 2009, one of the

lowest among European Union member states, and well below those countries that perform well in

PISA.

In Spain, VET is still not seen as an attractive alternative. Half the population has only

attained the minimum compulsory education and the percentage of Spains population with a post-

secondary education is ranks low among the European Union member states average. Early school

dropouts are also a huge issue: Spains rate is double that of the mean in the European Union.

In 2009, the socialist Ministry of Education launched the so-called Pact for Education, which

sought to bring stability to Spanish education in legislation and funding, in collaboration with

regions as well as stakeholders. The pact did not succeed because the conservatives did not

support it.

The socialist government that had applied important cuts and measures lost the subsequent

elections, and the conservatives were given an absolute majority. Since then, conservatives have

been systematically dismantling the benefits of the last 35 years of democracy in Spain, and

education is an important ideological point in their agenda.


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Their proposed reform in education, called LOMCE, is now on its way to Parliament. It is a very

regressive reform; it has been constructed without any consensus and or negotiation,

disregarding the voice of teachers.

In the LOMCE, education is not considered an inalienable right that is sustained by the State

through its efforts and assurance of the present network of quality public schools. The

projected reform does not include measures that seek to improve educational equity, and it

disregards the role of education as one that instigates social cohesion; on the contrary, it

favours the privatisation of education, and it emphasizes the ideas of employability,

competitiveness and an education on the service of the productive model. Basically, the proposed

reform promotes social exclusion.

In addition to passing LOMCE, the conservative agenda seeks to cut public expenditure in

educationdown to 4.9% of GDP in 2015, and they have already layed off tens of thousands of

teachers. Unions have estimated that the cost of the reform would be very high.

LOCME intends to return to the days of educational repression: LOMCE will allow segregation of

sexes, and thus a different education for girls and boys; all students will study religion or an

alternative subject; Castilian only education will be possible in regions, with two co-official

languages; there will be external assessment of students, which means more obstacles for those

with difficulties or from less favourable social backgrounds. The last will favour the

assessment of teachers based on students test results. The reform will also eliminate the

prohibition to rank school on the basis of external assessments. The so-called autonomy is a

mere reinforcement of the hierarchical systems in schools. Funding will be related to results.

Basically this reform poses the consequences of competitiveness between public and private

schools, the social segregation of students, teacher layoffs, and an increase in early student

dropouts. VET will once again become the only path for many unsuccessful students. Dual VET,

which has been copied from countries with very different productive models, will deteriorate in

a country with youth unemployment above 50%; this will condemn those students from lessfavourable social backgrounds to become a cheap workforce.

This reform is a complete paradigm shift in education that will revert the Spanish state to the

faults of its past.

education reform approved and will be implemented next September in spite of protests

By:thinkSPAIN , Saturday, May 18, 2013

EDUCATION minister Jos Ignacio Wert has put his schools reform into effect despite countrywide protests against it.

It will be applied across the board from the start of the 2014-2015 academic year.

The reform will mean content of core and specific subjects will be decided by the State, with only that of optional or 'free' subjects chosenby the regional education authorities.

Co-official, or regional languages, will become 'optional' or 'free' subjects with the content decided by the regional governments of thefederal communities where these apply the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Catalunya, the Basque Country and Galicia.

Where schooling is only available within a reasonable distance from home in a regional language and a pupil's parents want their child tobe taught in Castilian Spanish, the government will pay the cost of this child going to a private school and the sum of money used will bededucted from the region's State school education budget.

Religious Education, or its alternatives Cultural and Social Values in primary school, and Ethic Values in secondary school will counttowards final grades and pupils will need to pass them to avoid having to repeat a school year.

They will not be included in the final exam to obtain the ESO, or Educacin Secundaria Obligatoria qualification Spain's answer toGCSEs but as this exam only represents 30 per cent of the grade, marks in RE or its optional substitute subject will count towards thegrade of the remaining 70 per cent.

RE is not compulsory at Bachillerato, or A-level, neither is there an alternative subject.

Failing two or more subjects will mean students have to repeat a year and only one if it is a language or maths subject.

This means if a child fails in maths and valenciano, for scholars in the Valencia region, or maths and Castilian Spanish or maths andEnglish, they will automatically have to retake these and pass before being allowed to go up to the next school year.

But if the child fails maths and music, or English and history, they can still go up a year.

If a child fails three subjects, irrespective of which ones

including RE

they will have to retake these before going on to the next schoolyear.

The existing core subject, Education for Citizenship brought in by Jos Luis Rodrguez Zapatero's government will be scrapped, but itssubject matter will be dispersed and included in other school subjects.


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Once in fifth form and working towards their final ESO exams, students will have to choose whether to go on to study their Bachillerato orFP exams Formacin Profesional, similar to BTEC or City & Guilds qualifications and will start preparing for these a year before startingthem properly.

A lower-level FP qualification will be launched, allowing children to study for and pass this at the age of 15.

Bachillerato routes will increase instead of just the existing Sciences and Arts, the additional routes of Humanities and Social Scienceswill be included.

In the same way as has always been, pupils will still have to study and pass around 10 or 12 subjects within the Sciences, SocialSciences, Arts or Humanities framework to obtain their Bachillerato.

University entrance exams, or Selectividad, will disappear, although certain more prestigious colleges may decide to set their ownentrance exams.

Otherwise, the Bachillerato grade will be sufficient information for universities to decide whether to accept or reject students.

All-girls' and all-boys' schools will continue to get funding from the government provided they can show that there is no genderdiscrimination in their teaching methods.

PE will be compulsory on a daily basis, with at least an hour in the gymnasium, and schools will be expected to actively promote healthyeating.

The nationwide protests are mainly over the reduced jurisdiction regional governments and individual schools will have over the contentof core and specific subjects, and the fact that these will be streamlined across the country.

In the regions with co-official languages, teachers, parents and students are mostly protesting over the fact that they feel valenciano,cataln, mallorqun, ibicuenco, menorqun, euskera and gallego where applicable are seen as less important and that schools whichteach in these languages will lose funding in favour of private education if they are not prepared to offer education in Castilian Spanish.

Spanish students rally against governmentseducation cuts


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Thousands of students demonstrate against the law of Spanish Education Minister Jose Ignacio Wert in Madrid on February 6,2013.Wed Feb 6, 2013 6:39PM GMT

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In my circle there are practically 95 percent of jobless people. There are just a few of them who work. They getone or two-day jobs sometimes but this is impossible."

Spanish Unemployed Former Student

Spanish students in nearly one hundred cities have rallied against Premier Mariano Rajoygovernments severe cuts to the education sector.


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The Wednesday demonstration comes as the second of three days of strikes that the StudentsUnion (SE) called to protest against the law of Education Minister Jose Ignacio Wert.

The SE says almost 1.6 mil l ion s tudents have joined the ral ly from inst i tutes spanning the

country, including Spains major cities Madrid and Valencia, as well as autonomouscommu nit ies Andalusia, Extremadura, Aragon and As turias.

Protesters have called for the resignation of Wert, saying his policies are ruining the publiceducation system.

The harsh spending cuts are leaving students without a future and the government has given themno support. They [government officials] are destroying the country, a secondary student said.

Many students who managed to get into a university or higher education off the back of theirparents funding are unable to continue their studies with the increasing jobless rate.

In my circle there are practically 95 percent of jobless people. There are just a few of them whowork. They get one or two-day jobs sometimes but this is impossible, an unemployed formerstudent at the protest said.

Madrid has slashed some 6.5 billion euros from education funding since 2010, leading to anincrease in university tuition fees and class sizes while scholarships and subsidies disappear.

The 2013 budget of the country will freeze public sector salaries for the third year in a row and cutministerial spending by an average of 8.9 percent.

Spains economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008. Millions of jobs have been

lost ever since.

GVN/JR

Cabinet Approves Controversial Education Bill That Bows to Demands of the Church

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