Spain’s acting Prime
Minister Mariano Rajoy announced on Thursday that the government would delay
the full roll-out of a new exam
system that forms part of a package of controversial education reforms introduced
by his conservative Popular Party (PP) in 2013.
Under the proposed
changes students would be have to sit
two externally assessed exams known in Spanish as reválidas, or final examinations.
The
first of these exams would be taken at the end of the basic secondary education
system (ESO), when students are aged 15 or 16, while the second such exam would
take place when students complete their higher secondary education course (bachillerato) at the age of 17 or 18.
Students undertaking the first round of exams at
15 or 16 would have to pass to receive their high school diploma and be allowed
to continue their studies. For the older group of students, the new exams would
replace Spain’s selectividad university entrance tests.
The government has
defended the new exams saying they will have a “very positive” effect by giving
students and their families a clearer idea of their progress.
But opponents want the
system to be scrapped. They say it
places too much emphasis on the results of individual exams – 40% in the case
of ESO exam and 30% for the bachillerato exam.
Critically, they also
argue the system will force students with economic and educational problems out
of the classroom, creating a system of haves
and have-nots. Spain has the highest school dropout rate in Europe with 20% of students not having any
form of high school diploma, according to European Union statistics.
The new system – which
is expected to cost the government €2.3 billion – is being trialed during the current academic
year but was expected to become standard in 2018.
But
speaking in parliament on Thursday, Rajoy said the exams would have “academic
effect until there is a national pact on
education, as per my proposal of yesterday [Wednesday].”
During a tense
investiture debate on Wednesday, the prelude to a second debate on Saturday at
which Rajoy is expected to be named as the head of a minority government,
the acting prime minister made mention of eight major issues that he is ready
to discuss with the Socialists and the emerging reform party Ciudadanos. These
topics include jobs, education, pensions and the fight against corruption.
This means that while
the new exams will take place, they will essentially be toothless: for now, students aged 15 and 16 will not have to pass
the exam to receive their school leaving certificate and the older students
will continue to sit the current
university entrance tests.
Rajoy’s announcement
comes a day after hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and parents
protested against the proposed changes in more than 40 cities.
Between 30 and 40% of
all students aged 14 and over this took part in the action while 12% of teachers
stayed away from the classroom, according to official Education Ministry figures.
But unions behind the action put the figures as high as 90% for
students and 60% for teachers, describing the day as an “amazing success.”
Wednesday’s
strike was the latest in a series of 23 protests against the 2013 education
law, the LOMCE, which the PP forced through Congress in 2013 despite the
opposition of 11 political parties who saw it as ideologically driven.
“If they don’t call off the exams by Monday, the
Students’ Union will take action again,” said group spokesperson Ana García.
Meanwhile, the president
of the Spanish federation of parent-teacher associations, CEAPA, demanded that
the new minority government of Mariano Rajoy call off the exams within four
months and start new parliamentary negotiations on the country’s education law.
The organization also
called on the government to reverse
the cuts applied to the education sector during the crisis.
VOCABULARY:
Read more: http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/10/28/inenglish/1477665648_836385.html
https://www.thelocal.es/20161029/spain-finally-has-a-govt-rajoy-voted-back-to-power
VOCABULARY:
Roll-out
(n): introduction of sth new
Sit (an
exam): take an exam
Undertake:
to do sth, esp sth that will be difficult
Scrap: cause
sth to end / get rid of sth
Haves and
have-nots: rich and poor
Trial: test
Current: at present
Toothless:
powerless, ineffectual
Figures:
numbers
Union:
trade union ( sindicato)
Call off:
cancel
Reverse : change the direction of sth to its opposite
Reverse : change the direction of sth to its opposite
University entrance test: prueba de acceso a la univ.
Dropout rate: índice de abandono escolar
Pact on education
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