The Government of Spain promotes the reduction of ratios in classrooms and the regulation of teaching hours for teachers

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, during her speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers (Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo)

The Council of Ministers has tabled the draft bill to reduce the maximum number of students per classroom and regulate the teaching day of non-university teachers in a basic and homogeneous manner.

The Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, stressed that the aim of the regulation is to "improve the quality of the education system and the conditions of teachers and, therefore, of pupils."

The document includes the reduction of the pupil/classroom ratio, a demand "of justice and absolutely necessary", according to the minister, as well as "reducing the teaching load and the teaching timetable of teachers." This will help to improve student care.

Pilar Alegría stressed that the text also aims to reverse "the cuts that the educational world, especially our teachers, suffered in 2012" under a different government.

The minister specified that the document proposes a reduction to 22 pupils per classroom in primary education, compared to the current 25, and 25 in secondary education, compared to the current 30. In publicly funded schools, students with special educational needs will be counted as two places, in order to establish a better distribution of students in classrooms from the 2026-2027 school year.

Regarding the weekly teaching time of teachers, it will be set at a maximum of 23 hours per week for Pre-school, Primary and Special Education teachers and a maximum of 18 hours per week for ESO teachers. This measure will be applied in all Autonomous Communities as of next academic year.

The Education Minister added that the future law recognises the work of teachers and educators, and recalled that "the President of the Government has often used a phrase that reflects the meaning of this draft bill: if we want to look after those who look after us, if we want to look after those who teach us, we have to stand by teachers because, clearly, the future of our country lies in them."

The minister said that the Government will speak with the autonomous communities and trade unions, with whom it has already held several meetings, in order to move forwards with the draft bill and is confident that it will receive widespread support. The text will return to the Council of Ministers, probably in January, before being sent to the Spanish Parliament for parliamentary processing.

The Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo

Allocation of the Teruel Investment Fund

The spokesperson of the Executive announced that the Council of Ministers has approved an allocation of 36.5 million for the Teruel Investment Fund, better known as FITE.

As Pilar Alegría explained, this is a direct subsidy co-financed by the Government and the autonomous community of Aragon with the aim of promoting economic activity in the province of Teruel.

The spokesperson of the Executive pointed out that, until now, the amount that had been established for this fund was 60 million euros. "The commitment that was established in the last meeting that President Sánchez had with the president of Aragon is that next year we will increase to 73 million, and in two years, where before there was 60 million, there will be 86 million," she assured.

"That is why, with the approval of this 36.5 million euros, the Government of Spain is keeping its word and, above all, its commitment to Aragon and the province of Teruel," Alegría concluded.

Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit

The Government has approved the posthumous award of the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit to the former Socialist MP Carlota Bustelo, who died on 16 October at the age of 85.

Pilar Alegría stressed that Bustelo was one of the "mothers" of the 1978 Constitution and that today's Spain is "the fruit of the tireless work of women like her, who made equality and freedom their cause."

Non official translation