The new school year in the Comunidad Valenciana begins amid a standoff between education officials and public sector unions, with renewed strikes still looming. Although the teaching workforce has grown, the government’s refusal to sharply reduce class sizes has stalled talks as 808,688 students return to class.
Education chief Mari Carmen Ortí says her department will stick to its plan for gradual, resource-backed class-size reductions. She has called union demands for a maximum of 15 pupils per class in Infantil and Primaria unrealistic given current facilities and staffing. The official target this year is 25 students per class, which unions say is too high for effective teaching and manageable workloads.
Information from Spain's Ministry of Education, the national average class size in primary education was 21.9 students in the 2022/2023 academic year. Valencia's target of 25 remains above the national mean.
Ortí points to a record €3.338 billion investment in education through 2029, including €802.3 million for teacher pay, €469.12 million for the Plan Més Mestre, and €1.41 billion for school upgrades. The figures have not eased union frustration, especially after last year’s nearly month-long strike, which ended the previous academic cycle without a deal.
This year, Valencia province will have 404,450 students, Alicante 305,280, and Castellón 98,958, a slight drop from last year. The teaching workforce has grown by 385 to 83,921. The school year runs from September 9 to June 18, 2027, and covers all levels from Infantil to Formación Profesional.
Union leaders remain focused on immediate changes to classroom conditions, not future investments. The administration argues that rapid class-size cuts would require new buildings and a hiring surge that cannot be delivered on the unions’ timeline. Ortí has also criticized national ministry proposals for even lower ratios in early childhood education, warning that such measures could leave some children without a school place and undermine legal guarantees of universal access.
Recent data from the OECD shows that Spain spends approximately 4.3% of its GDP on education, slightly below the EU average. Experts from El País note that while investment in teacher salaries and infrastructure is increasing in Valencia, the region still faces challenges in aligning class sizes and resources with broader European standards.
The government says it can deliver "quality public education" and support teachers and families, but the unresolved dispute risks further disruption. Valencia’s situation reflects broader tensions elsewhere in Spain, where education reforms and labor unrest often collide. For context, recent developments in other sectors, such as the clearance of migrant camps near Melilla, show how policy decisions can quickly reshape local realities.
Valencia’s education authorities are relying on incremental change and increased funding to win over teachers and parents. With unions ready for further confrontation, more strikes and classroom instability remain likely, leaving families and students caught in a dispute with no resolution in sight.
