This figure, representing 40% of public schools in the Principality, is expected to reach a thousand in the next two weeks, with the ultimate goal of 2,000. The initiative, driven by the manifesto «Stop Educational Trips», seeks to pressure the Government to improve working conditions and resources allocated to education.
The decision not to carry out activities outside the school has been made after votes in the staff meetings of each school and institute. According to the manifesto's promoters, pressure has been detected from the educational inspection to prevent these votes, violating the democratic participation rights of teachers, protected by article 146 of the Catalan Education Law. Some centers have opted for the decision of the teachers' assembly due to the impossibility of voting in staff meetings.
“"The only way to reverse this situation and lift the measure is for the Department of Education to return to dialogue with the four unions that have not yet left the negotiation table, and we want the decision to be consulted with teachers."
Most of the centers adhering to the protest are concentrated in the Girona regions (203), followed by Maresme and Vallès Occidental (126), the Lleida regions (115), Penedès (84), the Barcelona Education Consortium (80), Barcelonès (70), Baix Llobregat (57), Tarragona (36), Central Catalonia (36), Terres de l'Ebre (18), and Alt Pirineu i l'Aran (7). In some municipalities, such as Santa Coloma de Gramenet, centers have organized in a block, with 23 out of 24 primary schools joining the initiative.
Teachers demand the recovery of purchasing power, decent salaries, more human and material resources to ensure real inclusion, a drastic reduction in bureaucracy, and lower student-teacher ratios. This pressure measure is in addition to the strike calls scheduled for May and June. The centers' decision directly affects the leisure and transport sectors, which have already expressed their concern about the economic impact.
“"We want to emphasize that the responsibility is not ours. The responsibility for us stopping trips and camps lies with the government. If we didn't believe that trips and camps are an identity of Catalan schooling, we would have stopped them already."
