In Catalonia, 783 schools and institutes have decided to suspend excursions and school camps for the next academic year. This is the largest collective protest action to date in the region’s education system, aimed at challenging deteriorating working conditions and teacher overload. The news emerged after schools distributed official letters to parents and launched a dedicated website outlining their demands to the authorities.
The initiative, which began at the end of February with a few dozen educational institutions, quickly spread to nearly every area of Catalonia. Organizers emphasize that this is not a dispute over the value of extracurricular activities, but an attempt to draw attention to the system’s “collapse” and the urgent need for change. Teachers are demanding reduced workloads, less bureaucracy, smaller class sizes, and increased funding.
The movement takes place amid a five-week strike called by leading sector unions, as well as growing criticism of a pilot project placing Mossos d’Esquadra in schools. In several cities, this project has already sparked widespread opposition among teachers and parents, which was previously examined in detail in a report on demands to remove schools from the police pilot program in educational institutions — more on schools’ response to Mossos d’Esquadra involvement.
The campaign is held under the slogan Desobeïm Sortides Educatives (“We Disobey Educational Outings”). Teachers declare that they will not organize trips or camps starting from the 2026–2027 school year and until the authorities implement structural measures. In an address to families, it is noted that teachers are forced to work overtime without pay, bear legal responsibility for the children, and face continual growth in paperwork. According to them, the refusal to hold excursions is a necessary measure to highlight the real problems of the system and achieve negotiations with the administration.
In recent months, the situation in Catalan education has worsened: teachers are increasingly complaining about a lack of resources, growing workloads, and the absence of support. The authorities have not yet provided an official response to the demands of the campaign participants. The decision to suspend extracurricular activities affects tens of thousands of families and could impact the plans of many schools as early as the coming academic year.
