The Minister of Education of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Anna Simó, has decided to remove from his position the president of the Consell Superior d'Avaluació del Sistema Educatiu (CSASE), Carles Vega, who had poor management after the PISA Report became known. Vega informed the Secretary of Educational Policies, Ignasi García-Plata, that the sample of educational centers that the OECD had used to prepare the PISA Report, with poor results for Catalonia, was "overrepresented" by immigrant students who obtain lower performance. From the current 14.9% to 25% of the sample. This justified the great difference in Catalonia's school performance with the rest of Spain and other countries. The next day, Educació corrected it, pointing out that the sample was correct.
The termination is published today in the Official Journal of the Generalitat of Catalonia, where it is detailed that "the presidency of the Superior Council for the Evaluation of the Educational System is delegated to the head of the General Directorate of Innovation, Digitization and Curriculum, Joan Expósito Caves". To that effect, the text continues, "the necessary measures will be adopted so that the person holding the General Directorate of Innovation, Digitization and Curriculum can properly exercise his presidency".
The ministry has issued a press release in which it explains that the extinction of the Superior Council for Evaluation of the Educational System has begun and that a new temporary body will be created, the Evaluation and Prospective Agency of the Educational System. This will not be officially constituted until the administrative process is completed. The transition of the Council to the Evaluation Agency "will be carried out in a period of between three and five months". Sources from the Department of Education have indicated that the minister has appointed a temporary president of the Council to facilitate the process.
The new body is part of the Education Law and will promote and improve the evaluation of the system, policies and research. Two commissions have been created, one operational and one strategic, to guarantee the correct development of the transition.
The operational commission will be led by Cuevas and the strategic commission by the General Secretary. Both will be made up of technical staff from various general directorates and also from the Educational Inspection.
The restructuring of the CSASE was published this Wednesday in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat of Catalonia. Joan Cuevas Expósito will replace Carles Vega, who was appointed president of the organization in September 2021.
