Overview
- The national government has sent a bill to the Congress of Deputies that lowers maximum class sizes to 22 in primary and 25 in lower secondary and counts pupils with special needs as two for staffing calculations.
- EsadeEcPol estimates the measure would add about €2,818 million a year and roughly €28.2 billion over the next decade if applied nationwide, directly challenging the government’s economic memorandum that said demographic decline would absorb costs.
- The think tank calculates implementation would need roughly 69,000 new classrooms and the equivalent of 103,000 full‑time teachers, with peak adaptation costs projected around 2031.
- Researchers find only modest average learning gains from a five‑pupil reduction (about 1.25% of a standard deviation) while noting improvements in teacher wellbeing and family satisfaction and recommending targeted measures such as intensive small‑group tutoring, pay supplements for hard‑to‑staff schools, and a ‘MIR educativo’ residency model.
- Regional tensions are rising as autonomous governments prepare budgets to cover the change and teachers press demands on the ground, with an extended strike in Valencia deepening union splits over partial deals and keeping implementation politically contested.