Education to contract 800 new teachers

Catalonia’s education system is currently facing three major problems and in recent days the new Catalan Minister of Education, Josep Bargalló has outlined the plans he has to overcome the problems. All levels of education are affected with primary schools in the public sector being hit by a much higher level of enrolment, meaning that some 800 teacher will be needed to cover the demands.

In the secondary level the main problem is that with retirements, not enough qualified teachers are available. Those teachers now need a Masters in Education tacked on to their degree and most do not have that. The workaround is that newly contracted teachers, some of them coming from ESO, must show they have completed the required masters in a period of three years.

The most serious issue facing the Barcelona Metropolitan area is the shortage of classrooms in public schools and the insufficient number of schools in some areas which have undergone a major demographic change in recent years. Many families are now opting for public schools instead of the concertada (private-public) model, adding to the demand. Some of those schools now have lower rolls and face closure. The minister suggests that some may be incorporated into the public system.