43% of aspiring future teachers who have taken the personal aptitude tests (PAP) this year that give access to Early Childhood Education and Primary Education studies in Catalan universities have failed. Only 2,707 of the 4,754 high school and higher education vocational students who took the tests on April 13 have been classified as suitable.
According to data provided by the Catalan Administration, the pass rate is significantly higher among students studying high school (60%) than among those from vocational training (30%). And although 80% of the applicants were women, the percentage of successful candidates is higher among men: 64% compared to 55%.
These aptitude tests are carried out on content from the 4th year of ESO, they consist of two exams – one of communicative competence and critical reasoning and another of logical-mathematical competence -, and were introduced in 2019 to preselect students who are heading towards a profession. which is considered key from a social point of view such as education.
Initially they were mandatory for all those who wanted to pursue university studies in Education in Catalonia. But two years ago, Blanquerna, from the Ramon Llull University, withdrew this requirement for the admission of its students, although it guaranteed that the students would reach the required level in the first year through a specific subject. Last year the UIC also stood out and this year the Abad Oliva and the University of Vic-CC have joined, so that the UOC is the only Catalan private university that will require having the PAP before enrolling in teaching studies.
The rest of the private campuses ratified yesterday at the Interuniversity Council of Catalonia (in which all Catalan universities and the Department of Research and Universities participate) their decision to admit students who have not passed these tests, offering them the opportunity to pass them in the call. that is celebrated while they study the first degree course.
They assure that this greater flexibility in access requirements is necessary not only because of the loss of enrollment caused by the high percentage of failures, but also because they had detected that many of the young people who did not pass the PAP were enrolling in universities outside of Catalonia. , in person or remotely, and, once graduated, they returned to work here but without having trained in Catalan.