Row over teaching cuts

PALMA
PUBLIC schools in the Balearic Islands will have 57 teachers less this academic year, Education Minister Bartomeu Llinas said yesterday, at the same time describing as “deplorable” alleged scaremongering by teachers' union ANPE that the regional government was going to get rid of 400 teachers.

Speaking at a press conference at the start of the new school term, Llinas claimed that if 400 teachers were missing, then 10'000 students “wouldn't be having any education at all.” The union, said Llinas had chosen to raise social alarm over an issue on which it was not fully informed.

Llinas was accompanied yesterday by Teaching Personnel Director, Miquel Coll, who said that the cut in the number of staff had been prompted by budget cuts but that the care and attention provided to pupils “will not alter.” He added that contrary to popular belief, teaching staff who were off work for sickness or maternity leave were being replaced, with just a slight reduction of 2 hours per week in the timetable of staff who were over 55.

Planning Director, Elvira Badia, said that knowing that some cuts were to be necessary, it had been the education centres themselves which had decided what services to withdraw.

Llinas confirmed that there were currently 11'259 teachers working in the Balearics, 80 percent of whom were full-time professionals. This meant there is one teacher for every 23 pupils, a ratio that the Minister described as “good.” The number of children registered for the new school term has remained similar to last year with a slight rise in infant and primary school numbers and a small downturn in secondary schools.

Of the total number of pupils, 15.8 percent are foreign (above all from Morocco, Argentina and Ecuador.)
Llinas said that the government was to “look into” the operations of state-assisted schools on the island to discover what real “educational situation” prevailed. Improvements, he said would be made where necessary and deficiencies corrected.

The Minister said that 24'000 new computers were provided for fifth and sixth year primary school students and a pilot scheme for use of technology by first year secondary school students was being introduced at 12 colleges.