School, more resources are needed

Over the past days Profesionales por la Ética (Professionals for ethics) presented the report "Educational policies in Spain: 2015 educational excellence ranking", with a comparison of educational policies for autonomous communities. On the basis of the figures published by the Ministry of Education (February 2015), the Report analyses and assesses fifty-eight indicators. The general picture. The report, compiled by "Free to educate", Professionals for Ethics, confirms a reduction in expense for education, and a slight improvement in the schooling, eligibility, and school dropout rate. The economic crisis coupled by difficulties in finding a job has influenced the current situation. In effect, Spain continues lagging behind in the European Union compared to these indicators and the results of the PISA report (International Program for Student Evaluation). Moreover, the various Spanish communities are lacking convergence while the indicators of the classification continue being distant. The figures gathered in the Free to Educate report show that only 75% of pupils complete their ESO (Secondary Compulsory Education), and among them almost 40% does so with delays. Territorial differences. The differences between communities are very significant. The burden of education of social initiative is slightly reduced and the policies for autonomous communities in this area vary greatly. As regards public spending for education, a primary role is played by the Basque Country, Navarra and Asturias, while Madrid ranks last. Naturally, Madrid is the community with a more efficient educational management when expenses are compared to school outcomes. Educational resources are increasing, in general, compared to 2011, except for the Professor/student relationship, which is increasing owing to budgetary adjustments. Promoting social initiatives. Once completed, the evaluation of the fifty-eight indicators analyzed for the seventeen autonomous communities, the ranking of educational excellence in 2015 is the following: the Basque Country (8.8), Navarra (7.64), Castile Leon (7.39), Madrid (7.08), Asturias (6.78), Galicia (6.45), Cantabria (6.31), Rioja (5.72), Aragon (4.84), Catalonia (4.74), Andalusia (3, 53), Extremadura (3.39), Balearic Islands (3.08), Valencian Community (2.71), Murcia (2.48), the Canaries (2.16), Castile-La Mancha (1.88). Miguel Gómez de Agüero, coordinator of the report of Professionals for Ethics, explained: "We view the rankings as a tool that can help stimulate educational policies to achieve genuine educational excellence. "Finally, the report highlights a correlation between the influence of social initiative in education and educational excellence. "It is no coincidence that three of the four communities with greater relevance of the initiative – the Basque Country, Navarra and Madrid – occupy the top of the list of educational excellence in 2015", said Gómez de Agüero, summarising the data highlighting this correlation. "Social initiative means a greater commitment of society in the realm of education. This, in the long run, creates quality education and academic success. The efficiency in resource management is higher than that of the Administration. In fact, the learning level of pupils is higher in educational projects of social initiative." However, for Professionals for Ethics public education should not be compared with the social initiative, but rather, it’s important to exploit the business potential and the educational commitment of parents, employers and other institutions. Six proposals. The Report contains six proposals for the public Administration and education institutions: "A national agreement for educational excellence"; "the development of an educational excellence model based on best practices"; "a higher budget with a more efficient management"; "the promotion of educational projects that are the fruit of the social initiative"; "parents’ schools"; "the promotion of teachers’ authority and the culture of sacrifice."