Blog #4 Education Cuts, Higher Costs Spark Protests in Spain

Lately in Seville, Spain students are returning to schools, but faced against an economic hardship. Since items are more expensive and costs are higher, teachers and parents are having a harder time paying for things. The school systems have had a 21% percent budget cutting putting many teachers out of jobs. According to the article, teacher’s hours have increased and the number of students in each classroom h is has grown. All of this is concerning Unions. One labor leader named Manuel a Martinez is concerned that the government is using this economic crisis as an excuse so they can do what they want to do. This isn’t the only problem either, since schools had such a drastic budget cut textbooks are scarce and meals in the cafeteria are more. Therefore, this makes families have to pay more money. The economic crisis hasn’t just hit primary and secondary school, but also universities. According to the article, scholarships have been reduced while tuition has gone up almost 50%. Even if students get a higher education most graduates are unemployed.  It’s a gloomy situation for Spain and doesn’t seem to be getting better.

The economic crisis has been affecting around the globe, however, Spain and the surrounding European countries are suffering. Unions are not happy and have been starting to protest. However, this economic crisis is not only affecting the teachers, but it’s also affecting families and students. It’s affecting families because now they have to buy more items for school; therefore, they have to spend more money. The crisis is affecting students by having more students in the classroom which can hinder the learning. As for students in college, since costs are going up and there’s less tuition then more students will drop out. This makes their chance of getting a job even lower than if they had a degree. Another way the crisis is affecting college students is when they graduate there are fewer jobs for them. Therefore, this makes them go down on social mobility because they’re not making any money or have a job that has a low-income. In the future, it’s not looking good for Spain because of their budget cuts and graduates not being able to find a job.

11:39 p.m. 9/19/12

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