The Spanish bishops have this week demanded free education regardless of whether the center is publicly or privately owned and of the religious confession model, in the framework of the plenary assembly of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE). "Families must demand their right to be able to choose the education they prefer for their children, without being penalized for the model they choose", said the president of the EEC, Joan Josep Omella, who denounced the underfunding of the charter school and questioned whether the school check could be the tool that would help ensure its survival.
"Couldn't the school check represent the true neutrality and freedom that we ask of the competent administration?" asked Omella, who gave the example of what happens in other European countries, which "openly and fully finance education of children and adolescents in the school chosen by the parents, regardless of ownership, educational model and religious or secular confession".
This idea, which is not new, has reopened the debate on the financing of the charter school, which is 65% covered by the educational concert, which is used to pay the salary of the teachers and part of the running costs of the school, and 35% with the contributions made by the families, which cover the costs of the sixth hour, the payment of specialists hired by the center, operating expenses not covered by the concert and other educational services.
The general secretary of the Fundació Escola Cristiana de Catalunya (FECC), Meritxell Ruiz, recalls that in Catalonia there is already an educational law, approved in 2009, which recognizes that the educational service, integrated by public and chartered schools, must be free . In this sense, he considers that what needs to be done is to "advance the free system" by fully deploying - also on the economic side - a law that has already been approved.
"The fact that 35% of the education costs have to be paid by families is a problem, especially for those that concentrate more vulnerable students", points out Ruiz. "What we must demand is that the Government finance this 35%, so that all our students can come to our centers without having to pay".
According to Ruiz, the improvement in funding "would be sufficient", without the need to use other instruments such as the school check. "It gives more legal guarantees and generates more equity", emphasizes Ruiz, who calls for a model for education similar to the Catalan health system, in which "whoever you are and wherever you come from, you can go to any contracted or public hospital and they serve you anyway without paying anything”. According to the chartered school, which in Catalonia educates around 365,000 students in 700 centers – religious and secular –, the Department of Education pays 33% less for a chartered place than for a public one.
Josep Closa, general director of the Fundació Vedruna Catalunya - which brings together 37 centers of Christian inspiration, with a total of 20,000 students - defends that "parents should be able to choose their children's center for the project, regardless of their financial capacity". He points out that in the Vedruna centres, an average of 22% of students have special educational needs, a figure that exceeds 33% in some areas. On the measure of the school check, he considers that "it could be an option, as long as it is adapted to the needs of the schools", although there may be other formulas, such as increased funding. "We have no interest in charging fees to parents, but we have to do it because the administration does not provide us with enough resources", he asserts.
The president of the Federation of Associations of Fathers and Mothers of Free Schools (Fapel), José Manuel Prats, considers that the concert is an "effective legal and economic tool that guarantees stability, durability and security" but that at the same time "is insufficient" in terms of amount. "It is necessary to continue rowing so that it can be increased". Regarding the school check, he considers that this instrument, without having gone into the proposal in depth, generates doubts. "It could be understood as a subsidy and this is always discretionary, temporary, subject to availability... For now I see questions", he points out.
Nor do Escoles Católiques, the largest employer of chartered education, see it clearly. Its general secretary, Pedro Huerta, in statements collected by Efe, pointed out this week that this check, "instead of improving the system, would punish families who could not pay what would exceed the free part of the check" and added to the request to "improve the concerts" between the centers and the administrations.
The opinion of the Association of Private and Independent Schools (Cicae), which trains around 60,000 students, is different, and it calls for studying ways such as direct aid to families based on income criteria. "It would give families greater freedom when choosing the school they consider most suitable for their children, since the economic barrier would be overcome", they say.
Carlos Camí, president of the Confederación de Centers Autònoms de Catalunya - the employer group that groups together secular concerted centers -, considers that, although he does not believe that this measure will affect them directly, "it would be welcome" if it ends up being implemented.
