The Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sport, Pilar Alegría, accompanied H.M. Queen Letizia at the opening of the school year at the Maestra Plácida Herranz Infant and Primary School in Azuqueca de Henares (Guadalajara).

The Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sport, Pilar Alegría, and Queen Letizia with several children The Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sport, Pilar Alegría, and Queen Letizia with several children at the opening of the school year in Guadalajara.

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The school year kicks off with a historic investment in educational programmes for the autonomous communities

Together with the President of the Junta de Castilla La-Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, the President of the Cortes, Pablo Bellido, the Mayor of the town, Miguel Óscar Aparicio, and the headmaster of the centre, Víctor Manuel López, they toured the different rooms of the centre and talked to the pupils and teachers.

They are part of the more than 8.3 million students who, together with some 785,000 teachers, are starting this week a new academic year marked by a historic investment by the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport in territorial cooperation projects in 2024: 358.8 million euros, 176% more than those invested in 2018.

This historic investment will be used to finance, among others, reading comprehension and mathematics reinforcement programmes (almost 95 million euros) and the programme for guidance, advancement and educational enrichment PROA+ (105.9 million euros), as well as teaching materials and textbooks (58.5 million) and Inclusive Education programmes (36.4 million).

On the other hand, it is worth highlighting a new record figure for scholarships, with 2,535 million euros for the 2024/2025 academic year. This investment is 81% more than what was spent in the 2017/2018 school year when the budget for scholarships was 1,399 million, i.e. 1,136 million less.

It is estimated that 8,348,030 students will start the school year this week, which is almost 10,500 students more than the previous academic year (0.1% more). The largest increases in student numbers are in Vocational Training (with 1,193,260 students, up 4.2%), Special Education (with 45,001 students, up 4.5%) and Baccalaureate (with 711,651 students, up 2.9%), according to the report ‘Facts and Figures for the 2024-2025 school year’ published today. Along with them, some 785,000 teachers are returning to the classroom, 570,000 of whom teach in public schools and 215,000 in state-subsidised and private schools.

One of the challenges for this academic year will be the implementation of the mathematics and reading reinforcement plans starting this September. These plans, with 64.8 million euros for mathematics and 30 million euros for reading, are based on four actions: a reduction in the number of students per teacher, reinforcement classes during non-teaching hours, resources for schools to improve their autonomy, and cascade training, with a network of teachers and coordinators specifically trained to implement the new methodologies.

Another of the main challenges of the new academic year will be the implementation of the new Vocational Training system in the first year of Basic, Intermediate and Higher Level cycles, as students will have to spend part of their training period in a company as part of what is known as Dual Vocational Training. In addition, in the coming months, the Government is expected to give the green light to the most extensive catalogue of training offerings in history, with more than 9,000 specialities aimed at the active population.

This academic year will also see the publication of the timetable for the implementation of the Law on Artistic Education, approved in this legislature with the greatest parliamentary support ever achieved by an education law, and which will benefit 140,000 students and 14,000 teachers. This will involve the development of the regulations, allowing progress to be made in aspects related to the organisation of professional artistic education, especially with regard to its equalisation.