Cabinet approves controversial education bill that bows to demands of the church
Reforms are being strongly criticized by other parties and many educators
J. A. Aunión / Ivanna Vallespín Madrid / Barcelona 17 MAY
2013 - 21:23 CET
The Cabinet on Friday approved a controversial education bill that is being
strongly criticized by other political parties and a significant number of
educators.
The conservative Popular Party (PP) has introduced a few changes to its
initial draft to try to accommodate objections raised by the State Council.
For instance, both religion class and its alternative, cultural and social
values, will count towards a high-school student’s average grade, a determining
factor in obtaining scholarships.
“What this measure seeks is to stop children from dropping religion class.
They [the government] think that by making it count towards the average, they’ll
stop the drain,” says Fernando Delgado, president of the secular association
Europa Laica.
The bill also stipulates that the central government will advance money to
private schools that accept students who cannot find enough classes in the
Spanish language at public schools. This measure is tailor-made for Catalonia,
where some families have complained about being forced to send their children to
Catalan-only classes. What is more, the money will come out of Catalonia’s
coffers, since Madrid will simply withhold the amount from routine budget
transfers.
This has already drawn criticism from Catalan government officials. Education
Commissioner Irene Rigau said on Friday that “this is not an education law, this
is a recentralizing law.”
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