We are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Debats d’Educació by giving the educational community the opportunity to air its views
The three things I’ve learned
The public and private wealth of the country should first of all be for the basic needs of its citizens.
The political and economic decisions of the reform of the Constitution in 2011 give absolute priority to dealing with the interest and capital of a debt which, I would mention in passing, usually moves in sinuous circuits and often involves opaque creditors. This priority is placed ahead of meeting the basic needs and rights of citizens, which are also covered by the Constitution. That means the first thing to be done is to move this emphasis, above all because not enough has been discovered about whether these debts are legitimate. The question, then, should be put the other way: what educational needs are forecast for the future? What are the outlines of the right to education in a civilised society and what is the trend? And what is the educational cover that must be guaranteed under all circumstances to all citizens? Depending on this, we can then ask ourselves about the volume, destination and origin of the finance, and, above all, what to do in order to draw on the public and private wealth of the country and place it at the service of these objectives.
Educational finance requires a long view
Crisis situations – and the more chronic they are, the more important this is – are a good time for rethinking public finance and the choice of its objectives. To give two examples: can the indiscriminate and practically universal payment of public money to private schools to form part of the public system be maintained today? And should the current model of religious education continue to be charged to education budgets? The first temptation, however, is to save on the easiest sections, like infant education, or those affecting groups with least lobbying capacity, such as saving on compensatory services and policies, or sections where there are more direct powers, such as everything in the public sphere. These are policies that perhaps stand up to a short-term view. But would we be talking about savings if their medium- and long-term costs were calculated? Should we not be planning now for how to finance these costs in the future?
The strengthening of public schools, a guarantee of educational rights
Here, just as in the countries around us, the universalisation and guarantees of the right to education have come, above all, from the public sector. Today education is more open, the demands on the system greater, the resources spent on it less and, particularly here, the position of public schools as a necessity weakening. We ought to be thinking about whether it is weakening too much; whether society can allow slimmed down public schools, and how far private initiatives and the market can replace them. It would also be a good idea to ask ourselves whether less substantial public authorities, with fewer responsibilities, and redimensioned public schools providing less coverage for fewer people would end up having an effect on a model which appeared to be shoring up the educational leg of the welfare state. Planning finance means planning the right to prioritise and satisfy.
Olga Pascual i VallèsMestra de primària Cal donar veu a totes les famílies
Carlos Sánchez-Valverde VisusEducador Social. Professor d'... No és el mateix ser competent que ser capaç, ni autònom.
Isabel Sierra NavarroDirectora Programes Benestar i... Els inicis
Carles Barba BoadaVicepresident Fundació Catalana de... Més enllà de l'escola, en el lleure hi ha vida educativa
Ramon Puig i MañosaTécnic de qualitat CONEIXEMENT i FORMACIÓ
José R. Bertolín EdoCap d'estudis de Batxillerat.... Aprens
Juan Sánchez-EncisoProfessor i escriptor Que no hi ha aprenentatge de veritat si el cor no hi està...
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