Spain PISA scores hit record low as Sánchez blames PP
Spain’s 15-year-olds have posted their worst-ever PISA results in reading, maths and science, setting off a fierce row in Madrid on Wednesday. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he is worried by the 2025 findings and blames regions run by the Partido Popular (PP) for failing to spend education funds.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s PISA assessment tested pupils taught under the LOMLOE, Spain’s education law passed by Sánchez’s government at the end of 2020.
PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo says that law is to blame for the results. He accused Sánchez of neglecting education standards, claimed the best-performing regions are PP-run and pointed to Ceuta and Melilla as the two worst-performing territories.
Sánchez told Congress his government had raised Education Ministry spending from €3,200 million under Mariano Rajoy’s government to more than €6,000 million. He also cited more than €1,000 million for grants intended to protect equal opportunities.
More than €400 million has been allocated through cooperation with the autonomous regions for reading comprehension and maths programmes, Sánchez said. But he argued that PP-led regions were not putting that money into action.
The prime minister called on parliament to pass two bills in the new session: one on teachers and the number of pupils in each classroom, and another barring under-16s from social media. Sánchez said both measures could improve young people’s reading comprehension and were important for their future and Spain’s democratic quality.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com