The tension was noticeable in the auditorium of the Institut Bonanova yesterday morning, when vacancies were distributed to study a vocational training cycle (FP). A hundred boys, accompanied by their parents, remained in a dense silence, containing their nervousness. From there they came out with an all or nothing. They were focused only on hearing his name and raising his hand. Paula? John? Gina?” And what a face of relief when lowering the arm that warned that they were present, what smiles, what tears. And what hopelessness in the others.
"We have 23 vacancies," the secretary María José Jiménez had informed them. She was talking about the first option waiting list for the upper cycle of Diagnostic Imaging. “There won't be places for everyone”, she tried to comfort them preemptively, knowing that most would be left out. “But if you don't enter now, know that on September 6 and 7 there will be a new pre-registration. Perhaps then these cycles will not be there, I warn you that the toilets are in great demand, but I encourage you to keep an open mind ”, Jiménez softened.
The truth is that in this specific cycle 709 students have pre-registered for the two existing morning groups. The 65 best grades entered, but 23 young people who were assigned the place did not enroll. It is what was distributed yesterday and the reason why they were all summoned. It was not the 709, only a hundred were mentioned with which the places would surely be filled.
The director of Bonanova, Montse Blanes, explained to La Vanguardia that many students who finish high school sign up for a cycle like Image and, at the same time, for a university degree (Medicine, Biomedicine, Biomedical Engineering). If they enter the university, they leave FP. These are the students who, as they have the best grade, can choose. Thus, in this cycle, the students who had a place had obtained a grade of 9 in high school.
“Georgina? Gina? Charlotte? Pol? No one was in the room yesterday to raise their arm. They hadn't shown up because they'd probably gotten grades for a college degree. The secretary pronounced up to 63 names without response.
This is the reason why the Department of Education decided last year that all the gaps would be filled in one day. Thus, all the Catalan centers summoned the thousands of students on the waiting list yesterday and distributed the places out loud. Cycle by cycle.
Towards the end of the act, the secretary called Jana. A young woman energetically raised her hand. "We have suffered so much that when I heard my daughter's name I was moved," said her mother.
By adjudicating the places in person, the time is shortened. The center saves calling student by student. In fact, the administrative management of the center is already enormous. “For the 328 places that we offer, we have received 2,500 files. We have to validate them before starting the allocation process”, explained Blanes.
The lack of public places in the healthcare family is one of the complaints of Esther González, mother of Adrià Pujol, who does not understand how needing healthcare professionals does not expand the offer. To make matters worse, she considers what is happening to her son unfair.
Last year Adrià was one of those who entered the Nursing Assistant (those in 4th ESO now have a preference to choose a cycle), but he finds that this year he cannot continue. Middle grade students can only continue their studies in higher cycles. But in a classroom of 30 people, they can only occupy six seats, the rest are reserved for high school students, other higher cycles and university students.
The mother has paid a non-refundable tuition in a private center (150 euros) for fear of not entering any cycle or public center. “A private course will cost me between 3,000 and 6,000 euros a year. If I don't ask for a loan...”.
It would seem that this July the process would be settled. Yesterday all the holes were filled and supposedly all were enrolled, prior payment of 620 euros.
However, the resignations continue to happen until October, while university places continue to be assigned. "If they enter the race, they don't mind losing the money paid," says Blanes. The center then calls the next person on the list, with the course started (it starts on September 12).
When all the fish was sold, a 16-year-old girl arrived at the event, out of breath. “Can't I enroll anymore?” she asked. She had a grade of 8.67 from her average grade and the last one who was given the position got an 8.61. "How can you think of being late?" cries her mother. "Now you will have to do it online or go private, and I have four children."
According to a statement from the Department of Education, a total of 29,661 people have been assigned a place in a higher level vocational training cycle in the first phase of pre-registration. 86.59% have been assigned in the first request.
The cycles most in demand have been Early Childhood Education, with 4,161 applications; Administration and Finance, with 3,853, and Social Integration, with 2,954.
