Too many kids in class

Costa de Almería

ALMERIA - UNTIL the end of March, trade union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) has put a campaign in place to complain about education in the province, under the name ‘Infant Education is not to be played with’.

ALMERIA - UNTIL the end of March, trade union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) has put a campaign in place to complain about education in the province, under the name ‘Infant Education is not to be played with’.

They will be carrying out surveys, mainly studying the lack of staff and support, and the excessive number of pupils in classes. The Secretary General, Jose Blanco, has demanded that the Andalucian Council for Education provide more resources so that Andalucia can stop being the 14 placed in the Spanish ranking regarding the number of pupils per teacher.

The average in Spain is 20.3 children per class, and in Andalucia 21.6, although in some cases, there are 25 or 26, especially in coastal and growing areas. The Junta de Andalucia had agreed that only 20 pupils per class had been allowed. In Huercal Overa, two classes have up to 29 children in each.

The union is also demanding more staff, as children are entering schools at an increasingly early age and need even more care, which the teachers cannot provide if there are too many children in their classes.