The union organization maintains that advancing the start of classes does not allow "real time" for course preparation and argues that the calendar should begin after September 11, Diada de Catalunya. It also requests the recovery of the intensive school day throughout June for all stages.
USTEC has specifically criticized "the attempt to establish a precedent for afternoon teaching activity in ESO," with a minimum of three mandatory afternoons in instituts escola. The union accuses the Department of Education of making the proposal without prior debate and against the opposition of teaching staff and management.
The measure does not respond to solid pedagogical criteria or the real needs of the students, and it precarious the working conditions of the teaching staff.
According to USTEC, the split school day places Catalonia in the highest range of teaching hours in Europe, moving the education system away from European schedules and making it less attractive. Therefore, it advocates for the generalization of the continuous school day at all levels and centers.
As a counterproposal, the union has proposed offering extracurricular activities in the afternoons for secondary education, which are educational but non-curricular. These activities should be public, universal, and free, without externalization, and linked to the school dining service.
