A few days ago, the Spanish Confederation of Associations of fathers and mothers of students (CEAPA) presented a report that showed the breach by most of the schools established in the Organic Law of the Right to Education, at force families to pay excessive fees, although the education they provide is subsidized by the Government.
As we can read in El País, the Minister of Education, Isabel Celaá, has remarked that while private schools can set the tuition fees they deem appropriate, the concerted ones are funded "strictly" by the Administration, so have warned that any collection of fees that is irregular will be analyzed.
96% of those agreed to collect fees, some excessive
Last June, CEAPA conducted a study of the prices of 137 schools in Spain, and analyzed the transparency in communication to families They wanted to school their children in these centers.
The report has documentary and testimonial evidence, such as receipts and commercial materials that schools give to families when they come to request information, and that prove the validity of the data obtained
In Babies and moreCollected schools: the majority charge as mandatory fees that are voluntary From the data obtained it has been known that 96.36% of the schools investigated charge a fee to families, with the autonomous community of Catalonia presenting the fees more high.The average monthly payment required to parents who take their children to a concerted school it's 159 euros, although in Catalonia it is 249 euros, and in some cases the barrier of 400 euros is even exceeded.
For its part, in the Community of Madrid, 100% of the schools agreed upon require this fee, which has grown by nine euros per month compared to last year, standing at an average of 157 euros, or in some cases exceeding the barrier of 200 euros.
Study of prices of schools arranged by CEAPA And for what, are these fees charged?
According to Article 14 of Royal Decree 2377/1985 approving the Regulation of Basic Standards on Educational Concerts.
The educational concert forces the owner of the private center to give free concert teachings in accordance with the corresponding programs and curricula and subject to the current academic ordination standards.
Thus, it is worth asking: if the education of the concerted schools is subsidized by the Government, What are these fees charged to families?
According to the report, this payment is required under two denominations:
Complementary activities: some schools justify them by arguing the extra hours they do regarding public schools (such as pool lessons, reading workshops, more hours of English classes ...), and other times they rely on services extras they offer (such as speech therapist, reinforcement teachers, psychomotor activities ...).
Voluntary contribution: It is the most widespread argument, and refers to the insufficient subsidy they receive from the Administration and the need to pay for their facilities or the multitude of services they offer.
CEAPA has also denounced that a growing trend of these schools is the creation of foundations linked to its activity. In this way, families are asked that the payment of the supposedly voluntary schooling fee be made through the foundation as if it were a donation, so that the control of this financing is even more complicated.
However, up to 26% of the schools studied do not explain to parents the detail of this fee, simply arguing that it is a mandatory contribution that families must make if they want to take their children there.But this fee is not mandatory
But although many schools require parents the obligation of this fee, the truth is that their payment is not, and families must be informed of their voluntary nature.
But nevertheless, the study has revealed an absolute lack of transparency with parents by these centers, by hiding not only the non-mandatory nature of the fees, but the content of the payment activities or the exact time they are taught.
In Babies and more 13 aspects that you should consider when choosing a school for your childrenThis is what the aforementioned law says in article 15:
"The Complementary school and service activities of the schools will be voluntary, they will not be discriminatory for the students, they will not be able to be part of the teaching schedule and will not be lucrative ".
However, if parents demand the right to have their child receive a subsidized and free education, and decide not to pay the "base fee" required by the school, The family usually faces problems of exclusion.
According to the report, 21 percent of the centers investigated exclude the student due to non-payment of the monthly base fee, forcing families to pick up the child so that they do not attend activities or placing them in another class with or without attention.In some schools, the school canteen is part of this mandatory payment, alluding to its "educational project", or placing extracurricular or complementary activities at noon, so that it is impossible for parents to take their children out of school in is now.
The concerted, in the spotlight
For this reason, CEAPA has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to carry out a Royal State Framework Decree establishing some minimum requirements to qualify for the concert regime and that, in this way, in case of non-compliance, the High Educational Inspection can act.
For the moment, The Government has announced that it will analyze any irregularities that occurs in the quotas required of families, so it seems that the debate around concerted teaching is rekindled.
Via CEAPA
