ERC and Comuns, the Catalan government's investiture partners, are demanding a "rectification" from the executive regarding a pilot programme that plans to send plainclothes Mossos d'Esquadra officers into some secondary schools. Both political parties have issued statements calling for the appearance of Education Minister Esther Niubó and Interior Minister Núria Parlon before parliament.
Republicans and Comuns both highlight that the measure has not been presented to the Catalan Parliament. ERC will question the government on this issue during next week's plenary session. The party believes the plan "could be discriminatory" because it singles out educational centres, describing the measure as "unfortunate and populist". The Comuns, for their part, regret that the Catalan executive made a decision "unilaterally" and "behind the back of the educational community".
Criticism from ERC and Comuns
ERC states that its party supports a model of coexistence in educational centres based on "dignifying and adapting spaces, and providing the necessary teaching and support staff in centres where there may be specific needs for dealing with complexity". The group notes that this measure, which has already received outright rejection from the educational community, does not contribute to improving coexistence in schools and that consensus from the educational community is needed.
Similarly, the parliamentary group led by Jéssica Albiach argues that coexistence in educational centres should be strengthened with more teachers, social educators, and coexistence coordinators. The Comuns also believe that this measure "is neither pedagogical nor does it improve coexistence, nor is it consistent with the school model Catalonia needs". The parliamentary group also criticises that the initiative was launched "unilaterally and without informing the educational community", pointing out that unions and family associations like aFFaC have strongly rejected the measure.
CUP calls pilot programme "ridiculous"
The CUP also criticised the pilot programme on Thursday. Pilar Castillejo, the anti-capitalist party's MP in parliament, called it "ridiculous". According to Castillejo, every school already has coexistence plans. She denounced that instead of allocating resources to implement these existing plans, the government is opting for a measure that "no one likes".
Outright rejection from unions and families
The ministry's proposal has been quickly criticised by sector unions and families. USTEC, the majority teachers' union, outright rejects the Education Ministry's measure. It believes the ministry should support inclusive education and reinforce teaching staff and Educational Support Personnel. From their perspective, this is the way to address the shortcomings of the educational system regarding conflict in classrooms.
Beyond union rejection, families have also mobilised against the Generalitat's measure. In a statement, the Federated Associations of Students' Families of Catalonia (aFFaC) consider the plan "profoundly misguided and far removed from the real needs of centres". Specifically, the families stress that security forces "have the function of exercising authority and force, not educational accompaniment or building coexistence within the school environment".
