Up to seventy-one public educational centers in the demarcation of Lleida have adhered to a collective manifesto to cancel school trips and camps during the next academic year. The measure seeks to exert pressure on the Department of Education until structural improvements are achieved in the public system. This figure is equivalent to 36% of the 195 schools and institutes in the province and represents 32% of the total 223 centers administered by the educational administration. Throughout Catalonia, adherence reaches 783 institutions, which represents 35% of the Catalan school network. The faculty meetings usually take place between May and June to elaborate the Annual General Programming where the planned outings are specified. Said document must subsequently be ratified in the school council through a vote that integrates municipal representatives, teaching staff, students, and families.
Autonomy of centers and legal framework
The spokesperson for the directors of Lleida has recalled that the decision on pedagogical outings is directly linked to the management projects of each institution. Several centers have already closed agreements with families to eliminate extracurricular activities and warn that, due to a lack of consensus, a technical tie could occur. "No one can force us to spend the day out during non-school hours," stated the representative of the middle managers. The spokesperson has clarified that their movement is not against any agent involved and that they are simply exercising a right recognized by current regulations. "Cases of camps, theaters, and bus operators have reached us saying they do not agree, but we are within our rights," added the same interlocutor.
"Several centers have already reached an agreement with families not to go on excursions, and if there is no agreement, a tie could occur" - Spokesperson for the directors of Lleida, Public education sector
Repercussions in university education
In parallel, several schools in the Lleida capital are considering not accepting university students for internships during the next academic year. This stance could seriously compromise the viability of Education studies at the University of Lleida, especially in the dual modality which requires internships throughout the four years. Teachers have to guide students, monitor their interventions in the classrooms, meet with the university, and attend three specific training sessions to know how to guide them, extra work that should not be done altruistically and outside of working hours, concluded the spokesperson director.
"We do not feel protected by Education and we need more social educators, psychologists, nurses, and teachers to attend to diversity, as well as to recover purchasing power after 20 years" - Spokesperson for the directors of Lleida, Public education sector
The call affects a broad sector of the Lleida educational community and highlights the latent tensions between teachers and the regional administration. Local authorities will have to manage both the logistics of the suspended activities and the economic impact on the commercial fabric linked to pedagogical outings. The academic calendar will be substantially modified and management teams will begin to work with new limitations starting in September.