BM71: European Students claim for the inclusion of all stakeholders in the negotiations towards the Spanish National Pact on Education
In the past years, reforms of the educational system in Spain have shifted in several occasions without the consensus of any majority of the society. In some cases, the only stakeholder who was consulted to make the new law was the government. We from ESU believe that democracies are not only made with voting booths but with dialogue and consensus. But winds of change have arrived to Spain. Majorities in parliament have become a mirage and the educational laws approved during the last mandate, among others, are being abolished. In the following weeks, the Spanish Parliament is going to create a commission towards a pact in education, with participation of all political parties. But once again, society should be represented not only by politicians but also by the other stakeholders. So long so far, no single students’ organisation has been contacted. No single parents’ organisation has been contacted. No single teachers, universities, schools, professors or even alumni organizations have been contacted. Only one single organization has been contacted: the Spanish Episcopal Conference. We feel that this is not only an attack against education community, but also against the constitutional non-religious status of Spain. Therefore, ESU requires the Spanish Parliament and the parties represented there to include all stakeholders into consideration, particularly CREUP as the main higher education institutions’ (HEI) students’ organisation in Spain.
