An education held hostage by political changes

Education in Spain is far too much like a perpetual construction project where, every few years, the architect is changed, the foundations are half-demolished, and a building is erected with radically different plans. Since the beginning of our democracy, the education system has endured eight different organic laws in barely forty years. This record of legislative instability turns classrooms into a laboratory for political experimentation and condemns schools, teachers, and families to chronic disorientation.

An indigestible autonomous labyrinth

This state-level disarray is compounded by an even more complex institutional twist. With educational powers fully delegated to the autonomous communities, the landscape is so fragmented that for every regulation passed at the national level, we find seventeen different regional sets of regulations.

This confusing situation leads to serious problems, such as profound curricular asymmetry and the absurdity of university entrance exams. Since the official qualification is awarded by the State, a basic level of uniformity should prevail. However, the requirements of the university entrance exams (EBAU) vary from region to region, potentially reaching the unacceptable extreme where some affluent families send their children to study for their baccalaureate in certain regions in search of higher average grades to gain access to their desired degree program at their preferred university, which would flagrantly violate the principle of equal opportunities.

Added to this is another crucial variable that is often overlooked in public debate: the management of the language of instruction. While considering co-official languages as an undeniable and highly important asset is an undeniable starting point, in practice, their organization in those communities that have them frequently becomes a delicate political puzzle. If they are not managed in a balanced way, this can introduce an additional handicap, directly and measurably affecting such basic skills as reading comprehension, vocabulary, and correct writing in the common language of the state.

The real debate: beyond ideologies

While the political and media debate tends to get bogged down in self-serving issues regarding the ownership of educational centers, the defense of their respective ideologies, and the eternal controversy over whether or not they should be partly funded with public funds, recent data presents us with an infinitely more fundamental reality that we must discuss without hesitation.

Following the results of the PISA 2025 Report, the Spanish Confederation of Education Centers (CECE) has received with deep concern the widespread decline in school performance in Spain, registering historically low levels in Mathematics, Reading and Science. 

As the CECE warns, the problem is not simply a matter of socioeconomic gaps, since the decline is widespread and also affects traditionally more privileged environments. As its president, Alfonso Aguiló, points out, academic rigor and support must go hand in hand to help those who are struggling while continuing to raise the learning standards of all students, remembering that we cannot be satisfied with narrowing the gaps if the student body as a whole learns less. The primary urgency of this assessment begins with reading comprehension, the invisible foundation upon which all other future learning rests. 

Evaluate before legislating again

Faced with this structural weakness, the temptation for ministries and departments is always the same: to pass a new law or tweak curricula as if an official gazette held a magic wand. In contrast to this sterile legislative activism, the CECE's demand calls for the sensible approach of publicly and rigorously evaluating the impact of implemented policies before enacting new legislation. 

This analysis requires an honest sharing of perspectives among the INEE (National Institute for Educational Evaluation), the administrations of the different regions, schools across all networks, families, teachers, and independent experts, truly listening to the voices of those who are in the classroom every day. In Aguiló's own words, the request is not to stop legislation, but rather to understand what has worked, what has failed, and why, before undertaking new reforms, by evaluating policy decisions and not just student performance. 

Towards a horizon of stability

Education requires historical patience, depth, and permanence. No system of excellence can be improvised in the four years of a legislative term, nor can it be sustained with uncoordinated regional patches.

Therefore, it is urgent to call for a national agreement that gives educational laws a validity that, in my opinion, should extend for at least twenty years, thus ensuring the complete life cycle of at least one entire generation of students under the same rules. Naturally, advocating for this extended timeframe does not mean establishing an inflexible dogma or abandoning common sense: during that time, it is perfectly possible and desirable to reach consensus on specific adjustments or corrections, but always based on rigorous evaluation and never on partisan whims.

If we want to reverse the trend indicated by reports like PISA and restore effort, rigor, and critical thinking to their rightful place in schools, the first essential step is to remove education from partisan politics and simplify its legal framework. Investing for the long term, with a focus on the common good, is the only way to maturely secure the future of our young people.