The upcoming teaching competitions bring some good news and some worrying news. On the one hand, the teaching vocation shows strength in the first educational stages (preschool and primary school teachers), contrary to what happens in other countries, where a drop in the teaching vocation is observed. Five applicants are presented for each vacant position, which also allows the best candidates to be selected.
In secondary school the same thing happens in some specialties, but the opposite in others. There will continue to be a lack of mathematics, technology and Catalan teachers. Sure. It is known because the list of admitted applicants was recently published, there are more places than interested professors. It is not new, just the confirmation that young mathematicians and computer scientists do not have a vocation as teachers, and that there are not enough graduates in philology or literary studies to be Catalan teachers.
In this opposition, the great interest of psychologists and psychopedagogues in being educational counselors is also notable, a figure highly demanded by the centers, for their contribution to the improvement of mental health and emotional well-being, deteriorated after the pandemic. In this sense, the need detected by the institute directorates and the desire of a significant number of professionals to participate in this call, with the offer of places, clashes. There are 1,420 candidates for 519 places.
The ordinary teaching staff exams are called for April 26. 9,344 places are being called for, for which 17,764 people will apply, almost twice as many candidates as necessary. This is the third major call made in the last twelve months (along with the merit competition and the extraordinary one), which has the European objective of stabilizing the workforce at less than 8% before December 2024. Altogether, they will have stabilized at these months nearly 40,000 places.
One of the most difficult positions to obtain will be that of a children’s teacher because 2,444 candidates apply for 404 positions. In the extraordinary call held in the summer there was also an excess of candidates. In fact, 1,390 people were left without a place, despite passing, and now merit will be recognized.
In primary education, 705 places are offered for 2,913 teachers to compete for. They had already passed in the summer but 1,265 were left without a place.
The situation in secondary school is the opposite in certain specialties. Mathematics graduates, a situation that is repeated in most countries, have such attractive and well-paid job offers that they are not interested in working at school. In this call, it is already known that, even if everyone appears and passes, the places will not be filled. In mathematics, 539 applications have been registered for 720 civil servant positions. There was no person left with a pass and without a place in the last competition.
In technology, 150 will remain unassigned since 359 people apply for 509 places. The same thing happens in vocational training computing: there are 86 candidates for 126 positions.
In Catalan, it also happens with 23 places that will remain unassigned and this is assuming that all those admitted show up and pass. There are 532 applications for 555 places. This deepens the problem of Catalan in school and the difficulty of finding philology graduates to teach secondary and high school students.
In Spanish it is also fair, although the balance is still positive. There are more candidates than places: 463 for 399 positions. In English, the difference is 150 people.
The call for this month of April was, initially, for just over two thousand places, but the Generalitat raised it to 9,363 due to the entry of more teachers in January 2023 (to appease the unions enraged by the advancement of the school calendar ), replacements, the incorporation of new specialties, planned retirements and vacancies in the extraordinary competition.
