A front of the educational community has shown this Wednesday its rejection of the presence of plainclothes agents of the Mossos d'Esquadra in educational centers in Catalonia and has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the pilot plan promoted by the Departament d'Educació in collaboration with Interior.
The platforms La Pública, l'Escola de Tothom, and Desmilitaritzem l'Educació, which bring together various entities, have staged their unity at a press conference in which they have denounced that the measure stigmatizes certain institutes and their students. The critical bloc maintains that the initiative does not respond to a demand from the centers and questions both its usefulness and its educational fit.
Criticism of the security approach in high schools
Jordi de Carreras, a member of La Pública and Escola de Tothom, has lashed out against the arguments put forward by the Ministry of Education to justify the program. He has rejected prevention as a sufficient basis to defend the measure and has insisted that discontent is widespread among professionals and entities in the educational field.
"We do not understand the measure, we do not understand what it responds to and it worries us a lot" - Jordi de Carreras, La Pública y l'Escola de Tothom
De Carreras has also emphasized that it is not a measure requested by the educational community and has contrasted that decision with other demands that, in his opinion, are part of the daily life of the centers. Among them, he has placed the reinforcement of socio-educational resources against any logic of securitization.
Along the same lines, Marc Plana, from the Institut Margarida Xirgu in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, has pointed out that territorial services should be aware of the claims made by the institutes. He has expressly cited the reduction in ratios and the increase in resources for social teams, and has demanded that the professionals who work in the centers every day be heard.
Pedagogical Repair and Legal Doubts
Mar Hurtado, representing the Rosa Sensat Teachers' Association, has defended the institute as a democratic space and maintained that episodes of violence must be addressed with pedagogical responses. In her opinion, the entry of security forces into schools can cause the opposite effect to the one sought and alter the perception of protection among students.
"Police presence can temporarily reduce an incident, yes, but it does not resolve the conflict at its root nor does it build coexistence" - Mar Hurtado, Associació de Mestres Rosa Sensat
The entities have also focused on the regulatory level. They have warned that the pilot test could clash with part of Catalan educational legislation, specifically with the Llei d'Educació de Catalunya and the Llei de foment de la pau. Furthermore, they have suggested that the plan could contradict the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Incident in l'Hospitalet amid controversy
During the appearance, Marc Plana explained that the Institut Margarida Xirgu found itself this morning with anti-immigration graffiti and posters from far-right groups. The episode was presented as an example of the tension some centers are experiencing and the type of conflicts that, according to the entities, require more educational and social intervention.
The critical front thus maintains pressure against the pilot plan and demands a change of approach from Education and Interior. Its position involves reinforcing coexistence with more resources in the institutes and setting aside any formula that, in its opinion, turns police presence into an ordinary tool within the school.