More than 1.6 million students return to school as some teachers strike

September 6 is special this year as it is the date children return to school classes after the summer vacation.

In Catalonia, 1,605,243 students are expected this academic year which begins with a strike in the education sector. 

The year's classes also start earlier for the second year in a row, after the Catalan government announced this academic year would be brought forward to "help the work-life balance of families and narrow the gap between courses."

Those studying 'Batxillerat' pre-university programs and professional training courses will start the school year next week. 

Education sector strike on the first day

After the 2022-2023 school year saw numerous days of strike action and an eventual change in the education minister, the new academic year will also see a strike on the first day back to school. 

Three of the biggest trade unions in Catalonia, USTEC, Intersindical, and CGT, do not expect big participation in the strike because it is the first day of the academic year, but consider it should be a "warning" for the education department. 

A protest will take place this Wednesday in Barcelona from Plaça Urquinaona to Plaça Sant Jaume as they ask for reversals of budget cuts in education. 

The ministry insists that in order to specify any measures there needs to be a clear scenario for the 2024 budget. 

20,000 fewer students

This school year there will be around 20,000 fewer students enrolled in preschool and primary school, a trend related to the continuous decrease in births in Catalonia.

However, professional training courses will see 8,293 more pupils this year. 

The number of teachers is also increasing by 1,190, with a total of 81,335 educators.

Edutaction minister Anna Simó said this year schools have "more resources and teachers than ever."

Novelties of the school year

A new addition to the school year is the figure of guide in coeducation, coexistence, and emotional well-being.

Another change is the merging of the existing protocols to create a single protocol for teachers to better detect situations of gender violence, LGBTQI+ phobia, and bullying.

In addition, this school year begins with no public funding for schools that segregate by gender during high school. 

Catalan language in school

The Catalan immersion system aims to strengthen the use of the Catalan language in schools. The goal of this education policy in public and semi-public schools is for students to be proficient in both languages.

In recent years, this policy has been criticized by several political parties and challenged the method in court. On November 23, 2021, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that 25% of school instruction must be done in Spanish if requested by families.

On July, education minister Anna Simó announced a decree to emphasize Catalan as the working language in schools to provide extra legal security to educational centers after the "judicialization process" of the Catalan language.