The day, dubbed «combative Thursday,» was one of the last mobilizations before the general strike scheduled for May. This protest comes after education unions declared negotiations with the Ministry of Education broken, intensifying pressure from teaching staff.
Beyond the usual demands, such as salary improvements and reduced student-teacher ratios, this mobilization focused on supporting the EOI, which will also join the strike. In Marina Alta, schools in Dénia and Xàbia are suffering severe cuts, which unions describe as a «progressive dismantling» of the public language teaching system.
“"We are not facing a reorganization, but a structural cut that weakens the public language system."
According to the data provided, 244 groups have been eliminated, leading to the suppression of 8,450 places and the expulsion of dozens of teachers. These measures affect the 52 EOI in the Valencian Community and represent an overall reduction of 18% in educational provision, with decreases of 18% in Castellón, 16% in Valencia, and 20% in Alicante.
Unions criticize that the ministry justifies these changes as a «necessary and efficient reorganization» due to low enrollment, but they assert that this justification is based on provisional data and does not reflect real demand. The reduction in places limits access to educational, employment, and international mobility opportunities, as many public examinations and job offers require language certification.
Furthermore, EOI play a key role in social integration, with over 3,100 migrant individuals using them to learn languages. The reduction in places, they warn, «closes doors to equal opportunities and social cohesion.» The protest also denounces the impact on teaching staff, with at least 61 teachers expelled from the system and an increase in job insecurity, especially among interim teachers.
