New school year starts for 1.3 million students and over 82,000 teachers

Students return to classes after weeks off with the usual nerves and excitement to see their friends again and catch up about their summer.

The education ministry cites that 1,333,171 students, from early years to primary and secondary school, professional training, and special education systems, will start their classes on Monday.

It's back to class for the 82,277 teachers across Catalonia, too - 942 more than in the previous academic year.

Among some significant challenges for the newly appointed education minister, Esther Niubó, is getting rid of most paperwork and focusing on enhancing educational improvement.

The over 1.3 million students are only in public, semi-private, and private schools, as many students are also enrolled in international schools, which are not linked to the Catalan educational system.

Unions demand more resources

With a new minister leading the education department, union leaders have taken the opportunity to make their demands heard early. 

Spokesperson for the USTEC education union, Iolanda Segura, called on the new minister to "straighten out" the education system, with funding one of the first priorities to be addressed.

Segura said the system has been underfunded for years, directly impacting what schools can offer pupils, with many needs going unmet. 

The USTEC spokesperson wants the "dignity of the teaching profession" to be restored and for educational care staff to recover lost purchasing power.

The General Secretary of Education for the union CCOO, one of the largest unions in the country, believes "listening and negotiation" is required of the new education department to end "very turbulent" years in the sector.

In accordance with USTEC, Teresa Esperabé has demanded that the budget for education reach 6% of Catalonia's GDP.

She sees it as a priority to reduce the ratios in classes, offer more teachers for students, make the inclusive school effective, and put an end to segregation.

Union leaders consulted by the Catalan News Agency trust that there will be a change of direction in the education ministry, now lead by the Socialists after many years of Esquerra Republicana rule.

They hope that dialogue and negotiation will come, as "you cannot govern with your back to the educational community."

Phone-free schools

The Catalan government banned mobile phones in schools this school year after a parent initiative started a movement last year.

In Barcelona, the Institut Escola Arts, in the Sants neighborhood near the Plaça d'Espanya, has already implemented the measure, and even though last year they did a pilot scheme, this year, the school is setting up a different measure.

"We decided to be a phone-free school, meaning that mobile devices cannot enter the school, as we already have other apps to let families know when students arrive or if there is any issue," Albert Inglès, director at the education center, told Catalan News.

"If there is any problem, families will receive text messages on their phones automatically, so there is no need to carry a phone around," he added.

Last year, the school decided to set up a box to leave their phones during class time voluntarily, but they encountered that students aged 14 to 15 were a little reluctant. Now, phones are not allowed at all in the building.

Improving education results

The government will seek cooperation with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which organizes the PISA tests, to "take into account advice from the best experts" and improve education results.

President Salvador Illa announced the measure during a visit to the Salvador Dalí school in Figueres, northern Catalonia, coinciding with the first day of classes. The goal is to achieve "excellence" and an "equal" education.

Illa said it will not be an "immediate" result, as it will not be ready " in a month or a year," but that it will happen in the "upcoming future."

The announcement comes after last year's shock when Catalonia fell behind in all three aspects of the PISA student report. Many experts wondered why the results were such after it was unveiled.