School pre-enrollment period to begin May 13 online

The public school pre-enrollment period for early childhood, primary, and secondary school students in obligatory educational levels in Catalonia will begin next Wednesday, on May 13, as announced by the Education Department.

This process was initially expected to take place mid-March, but, due to the severity of the public health crisis, was postponed to a later date that was only made public this Thursday. Meanwhile, however, the remainder of this school year's lessons will take place online, while the Spanish government is studying proposals for there to be 15 students per class depending on how the pandemic evolves.

From May 19 to 22, parents and guardians of children between approximately 3 and 16 years of age who are not able to fill in an online application can request in-person appointments, which they are advised to attend on their own and donning a face mask and gloves.

For 'batxillerat', the final two years of secondary school before university, pre-enrollment will take place from May 27 to June 3, while trade school students will be able to do so in early to mid-June depending on their course level.

Besides this, as schools will no longer be able to hold their usual open days, they will be required to have ample information on their educational offerings on their websites during these exceptional times, while the Spanish government is also studying proposals to change time slots children are allowed out due to increasing temperatures. 

Whether students are admitted into certain centers or not will be made public online, while registration will also be finalized online and in-person by appointment if necessary. 

Lowering university fees to 2012-2011 levels

Meanwhile, the Spanish government is studying a proposal put forth by higher education minister Manuel Castells to lower university fees.

"Our proposal is to decrease university fees in every region and for every degree subject to levels seen in 2011-2012, before the generalized fee increase," the minister explained on Thursday, referring to the policies of former Spanish president Mariano Rajoy's administration.

Castells, who said the aim of this policy was for there to be a "fair system without excesses," stated that the Spanish government was already in the process of negotiating the measure's implementation with regional governments. The Spanish government is also looking into whether it would be able to provide further funding for this purpose.