Demand For Reduction In School Hours For Teachers

The Valencian Government has approved a reduction in hours for teachers.

AS reported in El Mundo, the Valencian Government has approved a reduction in hours for teachers.

Last week, the Valencian Government approved a reduction in hours for teachers. There will be a reduction of two hours in the teaching schedule for classes, which is set at 23 hours for infant and primary school teachers and 18 for secondary school teachers, fulfilling the demand that the Ministry of Education proposed in July 2020.

This will mean teachers will maintain their 37.5 hours of teaching per week but will also have more time to dedicate to administrative tasks and to prepare materials or tutorials. This reduction in hours will take effect next year and will only be applied in public schools, not subsidised ones.

The main union for teachers, FSIE, has voiced its concerns and warned that not extending the cut in hours to all schools violates the principles of “equality” and “equity”. This is due to the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court that determines that the teaching load must be similar in public and subsidised schools and institutes.

Even though the teaching hours of subsidised schools are regulated by the agreement signed between employers and unions, administrative support is essential. The cut suggests that centres need more staff to cover those hours which is something that the Ministry of Education assumes it may have to do in public schools.

The FSIE has calculated that the reduction in teaching hours for public school teachers would mean increasing  “up to 10 per cent more hours in delegated pay in Primary and between 28 and 30 per cent in Secondary.” This would mean between one and three extra teachers in primary schools and between four and 12 in secondary schools.

The union proposes a solution much like the one that was put into place in Andalucia and the Balearic Islands in 2018. The Executive of Francina Armengo agreed with both teachers and the union to use the same progressive reduction in teaching hours in two networks and promised to finance the hours.

The department of Marzà has not yet specified how public staff will be strengthened and they are waiting to determine whether they will need to be increased to continue complying with Covid protocol.