This Tuesday, the Community of Madrid approved the regulations that establish the Early Childhood, Primary and Special Education regulations. The Government Council has authorized the decree that regulates school schedules, a measure that aims to improve the academic performance of students, promote conciliation and expand the choice of Madrid families, as expressed by the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Local Administration, Miguel Ángel Martín. The text determines that the schedule is organized into two morning and afternoon sessions, separated by an interval of two hours, with the possibility of taking place in the months of September and June.
The measure pleases families and angers teachers and unions. From the Federation of Associations of Mothers and Fathers of Students, Francisco Giner de los Ríos, they positively value the approval, a decision that, according to them, favors “the best interests of the minor”, in addition to improving the freedom of choice of centers for families. “There are areas in the Community of Madrid in which there is no offer of schools with split days,” says the president of the entity, Carmen Morillas. Consider that the decree makes parents more flexible and gives greater prominence in this decision.
“We have been requesting debates and consensus for 25 years about what precisely we need to adjust to the best interests of the minor, since for us the educational system must adapt to the students and not the other way around,” insists Morillas. But the measure outrages teachers and unions. The general secretary of the Federation of Education of Workers’ Commissions, Aida San Millán, is critical.
He maintains that they exist as a system that allows minors to be less tired and maintain a schedule much more adapted to their biological and pedagogical needs. “The regulations are changed because, in a quite latent way, educational centers are used as daycare centers and children are left, once again, parked for as long as possible so that families can take on the jobs offered to us in the Community of Madrid,” he says.
He thinks that the real educational and infant needs are neglected. He calls the decree “an outrage” considering that it does not value either the position of the teachers or their pedagogical and didactic proposals. In newly created centers, the split schedule will be implemented automatically from the start of classes. The approval of the decree means that the continuous day will only be maintained in the centers that already apply it, as long as the system is not modified.
Along with this change in the organization of the school schedule, the process to request the change of day has also been modified, reducing majorities. The modification may be made before March 15 of each year and will begin with the presentation of the formal application. To this end, public educational centers that wish to do so may process and approve the change of their current school day to the split modality if they have the support of at least one third of the school’s School Council, made up of parents, teachers, administration and service personnel, as well as municipal representatives.
Until then, to begin this process, the approval of the absolute majority of all the members of the Council was required. The procedure will contemplate consultations with the faculty and this participation body, as well as with the families, and will include a vote, in person or online, in which it will be necessary for the majority of votes to be favorable.
After the scrutiny is confirmed, the president of the School Council will inform the faculty and members of the body of its results, and the director will transfer it to the corresponding Territorial Area Directorate. It will be its owner who authorizes the change, following a report from the Educational Inspection Service.
Working conditions of teachers
The measure is also opposed by CSIF, from where they have announced that they are considering filing a judicial appeal against the initiative, “which has not been negotiated with the unions and affects the working conditions of teachers.” The president of this entity, Miguel Ángel González, is blunt: “Here we are going to fight as far as we can go.” He criticizes the modification of the criteria for changing the day, indicating that while before 66% of the census of parents was required, now a simple majority will suffice in votes with low participation. “It cannot be that four or five parents have more power than 150,” he emphasizes.
The members of the ANPE union do not like the initiative either, who call it “regulatory nonsense.” They insist that the opinion of the teaching staff has not been taken into account. They will also study the legal viability of challenging the text to demand “respect, dialogue and common sense.”
The secretary of the Education Sector of UGT Public Services of Madrid, Javier Becerra, emphasizes that the regulations “deepen the worsening of workers’ labor rights.” He complains that it is not specified whether the necessary economic and human resources will be provided to implement the new model, which from his point of view shows that the public system “does not enter into its future plans.”
