Students, teachers, and parents in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat are protesting the deployment of Mossos d'Esquadra officers in secondary schools. They argue for social and pedagogical resources instead of police presence, according to reports. This comes as officers are scheduled to start work in 13 Catalan secondary schools this week.
Demonstrations are planned for Monday morning outside the Eugeni d'Ors and Margarida Xirgu institutes in L'Hospitalet. A teacher from Eugeni d'Ors summarised the reason for the protests, stating, "Students are people, not delinquents. In institutes, we need social and pedagogical resources, not police." The move has drawn strong opposition from education unions, student organisations, and parliamentary partners of the Catalan government, including ERC, Comuns, and Junts.
This year has seen a significant number of teacher mobilisations across Catalonia. Educators are demanding not only salary increases but also reductions in student-to-teacher ratios and an increase in staff numbers. While the government reached an agreement with CC OO and UGT, the majority union in public education, USTEC, has distanced itself and is leading the opposition.
New Security Plan Sparks Controversy
Amidst this labour dispute, the Integral Plan for Security and Well-being in the Educational Environment (EDUSEG) was announced last Thursday, Sant Jordi's Day. The Department of Education and the police force are behind the programme, which will experimentally incorporate Mossos officers into 13 Catalan secondary schools.
Teachers at Eugeni d'Ors were informed last Thursday that an plainclothes Mossos officer would be assigned to their centre from Monday. This announcement caused widespread indignation within the educational community. Hours later, they learned the same officer would also be assigned to the nearby Margarida Xirgu institute, where protests are also planned.
Most students at both centres, which are classified as highly complex due to the disadvantaged social background of their students, come from the La Florida, Torrassa, and Collblanc neighbourhoods of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. This area, known as Samontà, covers two square kilometres and is home to nearly 150,000 people in a very dense zone, where 87% of the population lives in homes over a century old.
Students Feel Criminalised
Álex Cisneros, an 18-year-old second-year baccalaureate student and spokesperson for the Eugeni d'Ors student committee, spoke about his personal experience with the police. "They want to put police in classrooms. It's a direct attack," he explained, visibly indignant. "In 2023, the Mossos evicted my family from our home, and now they want to put them in my institute."
Cisneros added, "Our centre is of maximum complexity. Most students are migrants and vulnerable. They are not only criminalising us but also stigmatising us." He plans to protest outside his institute at 7:30am on Monday and then outside Margarida Xirgu at 7:50am.
Teachers and staff from both centres have formed assemblies. They wish to demonstrate on behalf of these platforms without revealing their identities. One teacher stated, "They want to send us police without any consensus. At the beginning of the academic year, the Department cut staff in roles we need. We have walls falling apart, broken blackboards, and what they do is send us Mossos."
Union Rejects Agreement
The planned concentrations on Monday aim to make the department abandon the initiative of placing officers in institutes. Instead, they want more social and labour resources for staff. Iolanda Segura, national spokesperson for USTEC, the majority teachers' union, denies any agreement with the government to implement the measure.
"It is surprising," Segura said. "The incorporation of Mossos was not even discussed or agreed upon in the classroom aggression commission we established months ago. A police officer will never replace the roles of social integrators, social educators, psychopedagogues, psychologists, and counsellors that are cut year after year."
Segura argues that reducing student-to-teacher ratios is the only proven way to reduce conflict. She also believes that security requires a dignified life, adequate nutrition, quality schools that can meet educational needs, and economic security. "A Mossos officer is not an educational figure," she said. "In fact, in the United Kingdom, they have been removing police from centres for years because they aggravated conflict."
Moving forward, the protesting communities hope the Catalan government will reconsider its approach and prioritise educational and social support over police presence in schools. The outcome of these protests could influence the broader implementation of the EDUSEG plan across Catalonia.
