The first day of school starts in Catalonia with a strike: demonstrations and what the teachers are asking for

The 2026-27 school year starts this Tuesday in Catalonia in many centers as the previous one ended: with a strike. Despite the request from the councilor Esther Niubó to make a pause in the protest for the return to classrooms after the summer break, the unions have decided to maintain the strike, acknowledging that it is a “particularly sensitive” day. Precisely because of this, it is uncertain what the turnout for the protest will be. Some centers have decided not to join the protest to prioritize the reunion of students and the educational community after the summer break. Others, on the other hand, will resume the school year with a strike. Teachers are asking to consolidate the commitments from last spring’s negotiation, more investment in inclusive education, or to increase teaching staff. The heat in classrooms, the boycott by more than half of public centers of the school camps, or the new guidelines on the use of AI are other aspects that will mark a school year expected to be turbulent.

Read more Leonor returns to the classrooms: a princess among 4,000 new university students

For this first strike day of the 2026/27 school year, minimum services have been decreed that include one person from the management team per center and, in preschool, primary, and secondary, one teacher for every three units or classrooms. In special education, 50% of the staff is established, and in nursery schools, 33%. Dining, kitchen, reception, extracurricular, and special educational needs services must have half the staff.

Called by the Educational Assembly of Catalonia (AEC), mobilizations are planned for this first day of the school year on strike in Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat, Girona, Central Catalonia, Maresme, Vallès Oriental and Occidental, Tarragona, Terres de l’Ebre, Lleida, and Alt Pirineu and Aran. Thus, up to 11 marches spread throughout Catalonia will kick off the first day of school.

In Barcelona, the march will start at 10 a.m. in Urquinaona square and end in Sant Jaume square, where an hour later a “macro assembly” of education workers is planned. In the Catalan capital, three hot chocolate events have been called from 7 a.m., including one in Can Batlló. The columns will start walking from different points of the city at 9 a.m., including Plaça Espanya.

There will be a breakfast at 8:30 a.m. in Fontajau to continue with a demonstration an hour later and another “macro assembly” at 11 a.m. in Independence square.

In Lleida, the day will start at 7:30 a.m. with a popular breakfast in the President Josep Tarradellas parking lot of the Lleida Fair, half an hour before starting gatherings in front of the bus and train stations, followed by a protest and a “macro assembly” at 11 a.m.

Read more Total eclipse

In Tarragona, the pickets will start at 7:30 a.m. in the Francolí industrial park and at 10 a.m. a demonstration and a “macro assembly” will be held in Imperial Tàrraco square.

Although the previous school year was marked by negotiations, protests, and strikes, the agreement signed in May that foresees pay increases and 6,400 new positions until 2029, the unions calling the strike showed their rejection of the pact (signed by Educació with Secondary Teachers (Aspepc), CC.OO., and UGT) and proposed a tense start to the school year. Teachers ask to consolidate the commitments made and have added raising educational investment to 6% of GDP, further reducing ratios, and increasing staff. They also demand more investment in inclusive education, safeguarding Catalan as the vehicular language, or applying a 35-hour workweek with reduced teaching hours.

Teachers’ demands do not end here. The heat in classrooms, with a start to September with very high temperatures, and the lack of air conditioning are also reasons for protest by the teaching community. The new school year also begins with the refusal of more than half of Catalan public centers adhering to the manifesto to boycott school camps and excursions.

The PISA report (Programme for International Student Assessment) that the OECD presents right on the first day of classes will also mark the school year. Catalonia has been excluded from the international comparison because educational centers excluded 23% of students from the test believing they were not capable of taking it. The Generalitat has dismissed several officials for not applying the warnings from the Ministry of Education.

The school year starting this Tuesday will also be marked by new rules on the use of AI in classrooms. It is prohibited until age 14 and can be used from that age until 18 with parental permission.

Read more Theodor Kallifatides: “We are living through a frantic stage of war preparation like I have never seen”