Balearics PISA warning: UGT calls for school funds

Teachers in the Balearic Islands are preparing for the new school year with too few resources to give pupils the individual attention they need, the UGT teaching union says. In Palma on Wednesday, 9 September, it called for greater investment and structural funding after the islands’ PISA results deteriorated. The union says responsibility for a quality education cannot rest solely on education workers.

Larger classes and less time for pupils

UGT says too many pupils in each classroom, heavy paperwork and increasingly complex classes are cutting into time for lesson planning and personal follow-up. Many teachers are exhausted, it adds, while current resources cannot guarantee the individual attention pupils require.

The union wants education authorities to provide enough support staff, safe and decent buildings, fairer class sizes, better working conditions and greater social recognition for teachers.

No single group should take the blame

UGT says poor PISA results must be examined carefully and should not be pinned on pupils, teachers, schools or families alone. It points to changing reading habits, digital devices, the effects of the pandemic, absenteeism and greater diversity in classrooms as factors behind the fall in performance.

The results should push education authorities to tackle structural problems in the system, the union says. It is calling for public funding that is sufficient, stable and sustained.

Topics: Jobs & labour · Education · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com