28 Feb Funding and Real Free Access to State-Subsidized Private Schools
Funding and Real Free Access to State-Subsidized Private Schools
In recent days, a news article published in La Vanguardia has once again brought to the forefront an issue that is both highly relevant and often overlooked: the structural underfunding of state-subsidized private schools in Catalonia and the real difficulties in guaranteeing truly free access within the education system. Various representative organizations from the sector have launched a signature campaign to demand sufficient funding that would allow human and material resources to be aligned with those of public schools, thereby preventing families from indirectly bearing the funding shortfall.
I write these lines from a dual perspective that I believe it is honest to make explicit. On the one hand, as a registered conflict mediator, accustomed to analyzing systemic conflicts from their structural causes, beyond opposing positions. On the other hand, as a vocational training teacher at La Salle, an institution with an unquestionable educational trajectory, which integrates diverse realities: private education, but also stages and areas that are clearly state-subsidized and form part of the publicly funded education system.
It is precisely this plurality that makes especially evident the tension generated by a model that proclaims the free nature of education while failing to adequately fund all the schools that are part of the system. As the organizations promoting the campaign point out, state-subsidized private schools represent approximately one third of the Catalan education system, yet they have received only a very small share of the budget increases in recent years. This asymmetry is not merely an accounting issue: it has direct consequences for equal opportunities, genuine freedom of school choice, and the cohesion of the education system.
The school leadership has provided us with a clear and well-argued document explaining the reasons behind this mobilization and the need to guarantee, also for state-subsidized private schools, the essential resources required to offer fully free and high-quality education. I share the substance of this position and believe that expressing it publicly is a matter of professional coherence and civic responsibility.
This is not an article about mediation, but it stems from a conviction deeply linked to the culture of dialogue: structural conflicts are not resolved by ignoring them, but by making them visible and addressing them with data, rigor, and a willingness to reach agreement. The debate on educational funding should not become a confrontation between educational networks, but rather a collective reflection on how to ensure a fair, sustainable, and truly free system for all families.
For this reason, I wish to express my explicit support for the initiative promoted by various educational organizations and to encourage families, teachers, and the general public to show their support by signing the manifesto available at the following link:
https://www.escoladelagent.org
Promoting organizations:
Families: Christian Confederation of Associations of Fathers and Mothers of Students of Catalonia (CCAPAC) and Federation of Associations of Fathers and Mothers of Independent Schools of Catalonia (FAPEL).
Trade unions and teachers: Education Federation of USOC (FEUSOC) and Association of Teachers of Christian Schools of Catalonia (APECC).
Employers’ organizations: Agrupació Escolar Catalana (AEC), Professional Association of Educational Services of Catalonia (APSEC), Confederation of Autonomous Educational Centers of Catalonia (CCAEC), Catalan Federation of Educational Centers (FECACEN), and Christian School Foundation of Catalonia (FECC).
Daniel Sererols Villalón
Lawyer and mediator
Tel. +34 661 463 306
daniel@mediadorconflictos.com