Pedro Sánchez urges support for lowering student-teacher ratios and protecting minors from social media to improve reading comprehension

During the question and answer session in the Lower House of Parliament, the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, acknowledged that the findings of the latest PISA report, produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), "are a cause for great concern in all Western countries, including Spain".

However, Pedro Sánchez highlighted the efforts made by the Executive regarding education, noting that investment in the Ministry of Education has doubled, exceeding "€6 billion". He also pointed out that the budget for scholarships and study grants has increased by "more than €1 billion" to "guarantee equal opportunities", and that over €400 million has been allocated to territorial cooperation programmes with the autonomous communities to strengthen reading comprehension and mathematics skills.

In response to a question from Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the People's Party Parliamentary Group, the President of the Government of Spain emphasised that the Lower House is currently considering two bills which, in his view, are "essential" for "improving reading comprehension amongst young people".

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, talks with the Second Vice-President and Minister for Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, and with the Second Vice-President and Minister for Labour, Yolanda Díaz | Pool Congreso

These are, firstly, the bill on improving conditions for the teaching profession and non-university education, which proposes reducing the maximum number of students per classroom, and secondly, the organic bill on the protection of minors in digital environments, which aims to raise the minimum age for registering on social media platforms to 16.

In response to Gabriel Rufián, a Member of Parliament from the Republican Parliamentary Group, the President of the Government of Spain emphasised that the responsibility and duty to bring both bills to a conclusion lie "not only with the Executive, but also with the General Courts".

Making progress on housing

Also in response to Member Gabriel Rufián, the President of the Government of Spain stated that the Government's roadmap involves "continuing to make progress" on issues such as housing. Pedro Sánchez noted that the regional governments already have access to €1 billion - out of the €7 billion earmarked in the State Housing Plan - to boost the construction of social housing.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, appears before the Lower House of Parliament | Pool Congreso

The president also highlighted the allocation of a further €173 million for the construction of university halls of residence, an initiative carried out in partnership with the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE).

Reports on the crisis in Ceuta

In response to Santiago Abascal, a Member of Parliament from the VOX Parliamentary Group, the President of the Government of Spain reiterated the Government's decision to "publish all reports from 1 July to 1 August relating to the Ceuta crisis, so that all Spaniards can know exactly what happened", a decision agreed by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on 8 September.

Non official translation