School is out again

The President of the Balearic government, Jose Ramon Bauza, called on striking teachers to respect the wishes of the majority who had backed his plans for a three language education system at the ballot box at the last local elections two years ago.
“This education plan, (in which local state school pupils will be taught in English, Catalan and Spanish) will be introduced because it is the best one for our children and formed part of our electoral programme,” said Bauza.
During a heated debate in the Balearic parliament yesterday, in which the opposition called for the resignation of Balearic Minister for Education Joana Maria Camps, Bauza said that he would be sticking to his guns. The opposition parties, led by the leader of the socialists, Francisco Amengol, said that the education plan was a disgrace because teachers were not prepared to give classes in three languages.
The socialists also accused the Balearic government of manipulating figures over support for the strike. On Monday the unions claimed that 90 percent of teachers had backed the strike while the government claimed it was just 20 percent. Yesterday, it was the same old story with the government claming about 20 percent again and the unions 80 percent.