In Catalonia, young people who want to study Early Childhood or Primary Education in public universities must pass the personal aptitude tests (PAP) before taking the selectivity test. On the other hand, if they go to private campuses, if they fail them, they will have another opportunity to pass them in those held during the first degree course.
This is the agreement that has been verbalized in the Interuniversity Council of Catalonia (CIC) in which all the Catalan campuses and the Ministry of Research and Universities meet. In May, it will be signed.
These tests, which were pioneers in Spain, which have been replicated in other communities and which have attempted to be copied at the national level, were born in 2019 to select access to Teaching. The tests evaluate language and mathematics skills at the 4th ESO level. Between two-thirds and half of the candidates approve it. On Saturday, the 2024 elections will be held with the participation of 5,120 students, the vast majority from high school.
The PAPs were promoted by the teacher training improvement and innovation program (MIF) and agreed upon by all Catalan rectors. It worked unwaveringly until two years ago when Blanquerna, from the Ramon Llull University, distanced itself and removed from admission the need to have the PAP, although it guaranteed that students would reach the required level in the first year, by passing a subject in particular. The following year, UIC followed. And in this course they have expressed their desire to distance themselves from Abad Oliva and Vic-CC. The UOC reserves the right to join.
In this context, public and private universities, together with the Conselleria d’Universitats, have agreed that all Education students must have the PAP, wherever they study, but, in the case of private universities, they may present themselves once the course has started. . “The requirement is simply made more flexible,” indicate sources from the ministry.
The agreement has generated certain tensions between the campuses for breaking the consensus regarding a measure that, at the time, was seen positively. It has also caused dissension between rectors and deans of the faculties of Education in the public sector as some entities consider the possibility of following the example of the private ones.
The disagreements would have been closed with the approval of this agreement.
In addition to the loss of enrollment due to failures, the campuses have detected that many of the young people who did not pass were leaving Catalonia and enrolling in universities, in person or remotely, and, once with the degree, they returned, joining the stock market. of work. Therefore, they justify, the final objective of the MIF was not met and these teachers stopped training in Catalan.
