Debate in Spain - Should education be mandatory up to age 18?
Friday, October 23, 2015
Spain's government and its main opposition party are considering making education compulsory until the age of 18 inclusive – although they have very different views about how this should be done.
The socialists, or PSOE, wants the Bachillerato or A-levels to become mandatory, meaning students will either take the arts, the sciences or the humanities and social sciences route, each containing around 10 to 12 subjects.
But the right-wing PP says this would go against the Workers' Statute which states that every adult aged 16 or above has the right to undertake employment.
At 16, after finishing the ESO – Spain's answer to GCSEs or O-levels – the normal route is either sixth form or an FP (Formación Profesional) course, which is similar to the BTEC structure in the UK and in some cases is eligible for university entrance, even though it is largely vocational.
But from the late 1990s and for about 10 years thereafter, the property and tourism boom meant youngsters leaving school in droves at 16 because they knew they could earn a fortune from the construction industry or from working in bars and restaurants – and many were not too bothered about gaining good grades in their ESO as they did not technically need it for these jobs.
The housing market crash started in around 2008 and reached a peak by 2012 to 2013, meaning these early school-leavers – by then well into their 20s or over 30 – had no transferable skills or qualifications and were unable to get another job.
Both the current reigning government and its leading opposition want to prevent this ever happening again.
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