Education, a lasting law for all

June 21 2020 (21:22 WEST)

A few days ago, the Congress of Deputies rejected the amendments to the entirety presented by the PP, Ciudadanos and Vox to the new education law prepared by the Government. The vote made two things clear. The first is that a majority of the House are in favor of repealing the disastrous LOMCE or Wert Law, imposed by the PP seven years ago and which has done much damage to our education system. And the second is that in this parliamentary majority we are committed to a new Education Law, based on the one proposed by Rodríguez Zapatero in 2006 (LOE), of broad consensus so that it is lasting over time, which prioritizes public education and designed for the entire educational community. 

Widely majority sectors of this country and of the educational community itself have been demanding a modern, less rigid, multilingual and cosmopolitan educational system that develops the full potential of youth. We do so from the conviction that a good education is the greatest wealth and the main resource of a country, and, therefore, many of us have set out to improve the quality of education, but from the perspective that quality and equity are closely linked. In fact, the LOE set itself as an unavoidable objective to provide a quality education to all citizens of both sexes and at all levels of the education system.

We have had too many education laws in this country since the approval of the Constitution. But, the most serious thing we have witnessed in recent years with right-wing governments, since education, especially public education, has been one of the victims of the 2008 financial crisis by having to endure severe cuts. However, the same crisis has highlighted among young people the importance of education and training for the integral development of their lives. Therefore, the new Law seeks to increase the educational and training opportunities of the entire population, as well as improve the educational results of students.

We know that in order to guarantee a quality education for all citizens, the commitment of all components of the educational community and of society as a whole is essential. As we know that teachers play a very important role, for whom the new law proposes to improve their training, promote the knowledge society, guarantee access for all to information and communication technologies, increase investment in human resources and promote lifelong learning. 

We are going to reverse the Wert Law by reforming and improving the LOE and including the perspective of children's rights and the well-being of boys and girls among the guiding principles of the system. A gender equality approach is also adopted through co-education and promotes in all stages the learning of effective equality between women and men, the prevention of gender violence and respect for affective-sexual diversity. Likewise, we propose a transversal approach aimed at raising the results of all students, through a dynamic of continuous improvement of educational centers and greater personalization of learning.

The new Law delves into the digital change that is taking place in our societies and that necessarily affects educational activity, as we have seen during confinement. And, finally, it is an Education Law for sustainable development and for global citizenship that includes education for peace and human rights, intercultural education and education for ecological transition and international understanding. In these times, it is very encouraging that the new law offers mechanisms to encourage teachers and students to develop the values ​​of democratic citizenship, life in common, the desire to continue learning and the ability to learn on their own.

Fco. Manuel Fajardo Palarea, PSOE senator for Lanzarote and La Graciosa.
 

 

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